BVR Sunday News Roundup

Black Vegans Rock Featured in VegNews

BVR Founder, Aph Ko, was recently interviewed for VegNews Magazine. She states:

I don't want to 'rectify' the representation problem in veganism because that implies that the problematic Eurocentric framework stays intact and black and brown faces are added superficially. That's cosmetic diversity, which can only serve the oppressor. We need our own movements where the oppressed are the authors of the change.

Read the full interview HERE. 

Keith Tucker's Hip Hop Green Dinner Tour Spotlighted in New Article

Jadakiss, Keith Tucker, Styles P, and Easy AD (from left) receive the Hip Hop Is Green Community Health & Wellness Award. (Photo: Maureen Cohen Harrington)

Jadakiss, Keith Tucker, Styles P, and Easy AD (from left) receive the Hip Hop Is Green Community Health & Wellness Award. (Photo: Maureen Cohen Harrington)

Liz Dwyer of Takepart wrote an article spotlighting Keith Tucker and his ground-breaking tour, The 10th Element of Hip Hop and Wellness. She writes:

The inclusion of health and wellness in the elements is the direct result of 50-year-old Tucker's work through Hip Hop is Green, an organization he started in 2009. Since it's launch, Hip Hop is Green has served free vegan meals to roughly 4,000 people, mostly low-income youths of color on the West Coast, in the hopes of reducing rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and stroke. 

Congratulations Keith. Read the full article HERE. 

Check out MaituFoods Vegan Meal Delivery Service

Do you live in Atlanta or do you know someone who does? JoVonna Johnson-Cooke of MaituFoods has a weekly vegan meal delivery service that offers beautiful, flavorful plant-based meals prepared fresh from produce grown on her farm and delivered to your door within the metro Atlanta area. Visit maitufoods.com to learn more! 

Mark Your Calendars for The Veggie Connection Event!

The Veggie Connection presents the 2nd installment of a “Vegetarian/Vegan Network Event” This event kicks off on Saturday, July 2nd 2016 and you're invited to take part in the festivities. The event takes place at The Goldy S. Lewis Community Center (Mesa Courtyard) in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

The event will include healthy living, vegetarian/vegan-minded exhibitors; non-profits; local food enthusiasts, entertainment, and fun for everyone.

 RSVP for early-bird entry. Find out more information about the event HERE. 

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. 

Meet NFL Defensive Lineman David Carter TODAY

Famous vegan activist, David Carter, also known as The 300lb vegan is going to be in Baltimore, MD today from 2:30-5:30pm. Stop by to say hello! 

FEATURE: Christopher D. Sims

I am poet, spoken word performer, and human rights activist Christopher D. Sims aka UniverSouLove. I have been vegan for eight years now. My journey started at Rust College in Holly Springs, MS in 1993 when two friends and I decided to stop eating red meat-we had already stopped eating pork. It was a gradual process.

We stopped eating beef, then turkey, and then chicken. We were all becoming very conscious about the food we were eating. It was educational rap music that helped us make these decisions. I finally became vegetarian in 1998 with the help of information provided in the books Eat to Live and African Holistic Health. It has been one of the best decisions I've made in my life thus far. Reading about how unhealthy pork was in high school has kept me on this journey. Also, viewing documentaries and the like about factory farms and animal cruelty has encouraged me to not only live a vegan lifestyle, but to write about it and become an advocate and educator for healthy living.

I've written poems and recorded songs about healthy eating, sustainable living, and environmental justice. I can't see turning back now. Especially with the knowledge I've gained and because of the many health benefits I'm experiencing being vegan. 

Social Media links:

http:/about.me/ChristopherDSims

http://www.facebook.com/christopher.d.sims/

http://www.twitter.com/UniverSouLove

http://www.soundcloud.com/UniverSouLove 

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

FEATURE: Danielle Pyle

My name is Danielle Pyle of The World is a Girl's Runway Inc. and a lifestyle blogger. My organization empowers young girls and women to become entrepreneurs. 

I was a vegetarian for years off and on but I wasn't consistent. At the beginning of this year, I decided to go vegan after a 10 day cleanse. I started my vegan journey for a healthier lifestyle and I wanted to make a change in the world. I knew my health was at risk. In 2015, I read a lot of articles about the meat industry. I spent one weekend watching Netflix documentaries such as Cowspiracy, Food Matters, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, Vegucated, Forks Over Knives, and Food Inc.

I was changed forever. I was determined to change my health and the world. Within 3 months, I lost 30 pounds. I feel amazing! This was the best decision I have made in a long time. I thank God for making it possible. As I continue to grow and educate myself about this horrible meat industry, it pushes me to be vegan for life.

I also started a vegan blog that will be launching soon. My blog will feature daily experiences, recipes, grocery hauls, videos and christian devotionals. The blog is called Freckled Vegan.

BVR Interview with Torre Washington

BVR:  As a black vegan bodybuilder, how do you think you're changing the narrative surrounding veganism?

TW: Although I truly do not like to distinguish my ethnicity based on a physical characteristic such as one’s outward appearance and in such case “black”, I will continue to answer the question in the appropriate manner. I think that by sharing my lifestyle of being a black vegan bodybuilder is helping the world as we know it to see that vegan is not just a white “tree hugger” lifestyle. With black being either hip or frightening (threatening), vegan was, and to a certain extent, is considered cultish, crazy, and not hip at all. Bodybuilding is considered narcissistic, disciplined, and idolized to a certain extent due to most people not having the discipline to get into their best shape physically. So, you put the two of them together and you have a major shift in the minds of those narrating this vegan movement.

BVR:  How did you family and friends react when you decided to become vegan?

TW: Well to be completely honest my mother’s way of raising me gave me the advantage as my family knew my path prior to my understanding of it. Friends on the other hand, saw it coming with my choosing to accept my Jamaican culture of Rastafari which promotes living “ital” or natural. Many friends throughout the years were just astounded as to how I was able to build muscle and not consume any meat. I typically became the topic of conversation or the butt end of jokes. “Torre will be ok, there is grass and tree bark available” were some of the comments.

BVR: What are your positions on animal oppression?

TW: My position on animal oppression is one of disgust, as it can relate to the brutal and harsh oppression that Afrikans went through during slavery and the slave trade: not given rights and only to be used as a commodity. Knowing that our bodies have been designed to consume vegetation for nourishment further strengthens the case that we don’t need meat for nutrition to survive.

BVR: What advice would you give to other black folks who are considering veganism, but feel like veganism is a "white person's" thing?

TW: Going vegan is not white or black, I believe that in our culture we were once living off of the land...it’s not a white person thing but a smart thing to do. Your internal organs will thank you for the cellular harmony.

Follow Washington Here:

Website: www.torrewashington.com

Instagram: torre.washington

Facebook: Torre Washington 

Twitter: @torrewofficial

YouTube: Torre Washington

 

Videos from the Intersectional Justice Conference

An image of Brenda Sanders. Photo Credit: Pax Ahimsa Gethen

An image of Brenda Sanders. Photo Credit: Pax Ahimsa Gethen

The Intersectional Justice Conference at Whidbey Institute was full of informative, passionate presentations from vegans who each had something important to share. We have access to some presentations. Thanks to the Photon Factory for recording these talks. 

1. Dr. Amie Breeze Harper. Title: Uprooting White Fragility: Intersectional Anti-Racism in the 'Post-Racial' Ethical Foodscape.

2. Aph Ko. Title: Afrofuturism and Black Veganism: Towards a New Citizenship.

3. Brenda Sanders. Title: Intersectionality in Community-Based Movements.

4. Pax Ahimsa Gethen. Title: Welcoming Gender Diversity.

5. Zarna Joshi. Title: Colonization and Animals.

6. pattrice jones. Title: What Can Mad Cows and Queer Ducks Teach Us About Intersectionality?

RIP Prince

By: Aph Ko

Over the past few days, the musical community has been grieving over the unexpected death of musical icon, Prince. The vegan community has been trying to grapple with this loss as well. I personally struggled with what route to take in regards to celebrating Prince's veganism considering so many animal rights activists messaged me to let me know that they didn't think that he was actually vegan. I hesitated with what to do considering some white animal rights activists make it their life's mission to destroy Black Vegans Rock, and featuring someone who wasn't vegan would give them even more ammunition to use against me. This fear over being attacked for celebrating someone who might not be vegan is something that occurs far too often in this movement, so much so that the conversation surrounding whether or not Prince is vegan has clouded out his legacy, his activism, and his iconic creativity.

I would personally like to celebrate Prince, his music, his life, and his animal rights advocacy. He also broke racialized gender boundaries which should be celebrated as well. Some folks state that he is vegan, others state that he's not, however, I feel like we should celebrate him because of his advocacy regardless. He has influenced many black people to go vegan and that must be remembered.

Here are some lyrics to his song "Animal Kingdom":

No member of the animal kingdom nurses past maturity
No member of the animal kingdom ever did a thing to me
It’s why I don’t eat red meat or white fish
Don’t give me no blue cheese
We’re all members of the animal kingdom
Leave your brothers and sisters in the sea

He is also known for saying, "Compassion is an action word with no boundaries." He was vocal about racial oppression as well as animal oppression, and I am here to celebrate his legacy.

Rest in Peace Prince. #blackvegansrock

FEATURE: Ashley and Taylor Howell

Snapchat-1522962537417204607.jpg

If someone told us a year ago that we would be vegans we would have laughed.  “ Us, Vegans?” No, we can’t give up meat! Well, we were definitely fooling ourselves for believing that one.

  Our Journey as vegans started January 2015 and has since blossomed into an exceptional lifestyle with no regrets.  We started with little to no knowledge about veganism which made the start of our journey a bit rough and a little challenging. With meat still in our refrigerator we had to figure out our next big challenge. “What to eat!” We later learned about Dr. Sebis Alkaline diet, which gave us a start on what foods were beneficial for our health.  After a month of trying his method we realized that this was much harder than we thought, but we didn't turn back.  We dived deep into learning more and more about the benefits of veganism and became compelled to watch our first documentary Forks over Knives. Once we saw how people were living off of a plant based diet, we knew it was game on.  We than could not stop watching food documentaries as they seem more interesting now then they did in the past. 

With clarity and focus we became driven to eating foods that fueled our cells and nourished our bodies.  Not to mention YouTube helped get us through countless nights when we had no clue on what to cook.  Suddenly we began to crave foods that we’ve never eaten before such as mushrooms, avocados, and mangoes, just to name a few.  We definitely started to notice the change in our bodies and became excited that we were on this journey together.  All of a sudden everyone around us started seeing our results and wanted in.  Now, everyone's inner vegan began to surface all because we were on this journey and made it look so easy.

As for our parents they absolutely could not believe that we had stopped eating meat, but became so proud that there girls where so passionate about being vegans.  As they are our biggest cheerleaders we always try our best to constantly educate them on the benefits of a plant based diet, taking them through baby steps in making a change for the best.

Our goal is not to bombard the world with our new lifestyle but to show how we live and how much fun we have together.  Now the art of cooking as a vegan provides us with so much creativity that we want to soon share with the world our favorite cuisines.  We hope to inspire more Blacks to partake in this “life of luxury.”

Links

Instagram: Thosedamnvegangirls

Facebook: thosedamnvegangirls

Twitter:Damnvegangirls

FEATURE: Asanti Owusu

Asanti Owusususu.jpg

Asanti is a 25-year old vegan currently living in Finland, the country where he was born, and he’s also a local of Brussels, Belgium. His father is Ghanaian, his mother is Finnish, and he says, “I am neither and both.”

Asanti is an animal rights and climate change activist. 

Asanti states:

“We are all on this boat together. Regardless of our location, the choices we as individuals make each day affect all the people in the world. For the sake of your health, our environment, and the animals of the world, I ask you ask yourself: What are you paying for? Are you paying for cutting throats, or are you paying for planting seeds? Are you buying our humanity's future, or are you spending it?

The most important thing to me is preserving our planet and its resources by reducing our footprints, and regaining the lost snowy winters I remember from my youth in northern Finland. 

I became a vegan when I was 24. First I became friends with a lovely woman who makes great-tasting food, who loved animals, and could express her opinions in colourful ways. She talked to me about animal rights versus cruelty, and things slowly began to click in my mind. While becoming aware of the ethical aspect of veganism, I still didn't make the change until the night I watched the documentary ‘Cowspiracy'.

'Cowspiracy' changed my life for the better. It was painful to learn that using farm animals was a prominent reason for many global catastrophes, like dying oceans, rainforest destruction, and even world hunger! It also made me see a connection between mass animal agriculture and slavery, which affected my dad's homeland as well. After that night I quit animal products cold turkey and went vegan.

Since then, I've advocated for reducing our consumption of animal products for the sake of both animals and humans alike. I joined the Finnish animal rights group "Oikeutta eläimille" (translated: Justice to Animals) in the fight for justice and the end of mass producing animals for the sake of exploiting them. 

'Oikeutta eläimille' is a grassroots-level animal rights group founded in 1995. We promote vegetarianism and veganism as one good way of influencing the position of animals in society. Our day-to-day actions include lectures, speaking in schools and in public, disseminating flyers and literature, setting up info tables in public places, holding demonstrations, protests, and publicity stunts, plus other activity. Apart from civil disobedience, we operate within the Finnish law.

The most visible parts of our activity are photos and videos taken in intensive farms and slaughterhouses that have also recently been shown on TV to the public. Oikeutta eläimille questions the idea of exploiting animals.Our relationship with animals should be based on reciprocity, instead of the current model of one-way profitability. We all have the ethical responsibility to take these requirements into account. ”

Cart (0)