FEATURE: PaSean Wilson-Ashley

As a child growing up in New York in the 60's, my mother Maydell was always trying out new things on us.  She would grow wheatgrass on a paper towel and she would have my siblings and  I chew on it.  I remember her talking about Ann Wigmore (the woman who put wheatgrass on the map) and what the government was doing to genetically alter fruits and vegetables.  I recall after consuming birthday cake my mother would have my siblings and I drink aloe tea to "clean out."  We were not vegan but we ate lots of fruits and vegetables.  My Mother's mantra was "Its all about balance. Too  much or too little of anything is not good."

But, my VEGAN journey began when I moved in with my voice teacher after college.  She was a mostly raw food vegan and informed me that meat, dairy, and wheat were not the best things for vocal health.  So, I became a vegan.  At first it was a challenge because back then vegan food was tasteless and vegan desserts were dry.  But over the years vegan culinary arts have greatly improved and vegans no longer have to eat cardboard and pretend it's tasty.  

I recently started a vegan baking business called MamaAunties Vegan Baked Goodies. My vegan desserts can be purchased at Tonnie's Minis, which is located at  4734 Broadway, New York, NY 10040 and I accept custom orders by email MamaAunties@gmail.com.  I began baking about 3 years ago when I got tired of spending my whole paycheck on vegan sweets.  I started out with chocolate chip cookies and my menu has expanded to include:

Almond Butter Cookies

Banana Cake

Banana Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting.

Banana Nut Bread (Chocolate)

Brownies with Walnuts

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting or Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans or Walnuts

Coffee Cake

Lemons Bundt Cake

Persimmon Pumpkin Spice Cake

Vanilla Pound Cake

Red Velvet Cupcakes Cream Cheese Frosting 

Vanilla Cake with Vanilla or Chocolate Frosting. 

Vanilla Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

Chocolate/Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Vanilla Frosting,

Vegan Ice Cream

As well as custom wedding and birthday cakes

BVR Sunday News Roundup

VegNews Releases Article About Intersectional Vegan Conference in the UK

Photo credit: Pax Ahimsa Gethen

We were pleasantly surprised to see that VegNews reporter Richard Bowie wrote a piece about UK's first Intersectional Vegan Conference which will be taking place in October! In case you didn't already know, Dr. Breeze Harper, Aph Ko, Christopher Sebastian McJetters, Demetrius Bagley, and Lauren Ornelas (from Food Empowerment Project) will be some of the speakers! Read the article HERE. 

Oakland VegFest Featured Prominent Black Speakers

 

Oakland's VegFest, which took place from May 15 through the 21st, featured speakers like vegan activist David Carter and Olympian Seba Johnson! We can't wait to read more recaps about the event! 

HuffPost Releases Controversial Essay About Black People and Veganism

TOM MERTON VIA GETTY IMAGES

Nzinga Young, a writer for the Huffington Post, released a controversial essay titled, "Here's Why Black People Don't Go Vegan." In it, Young describes some of the cultural challenges that Black people face when it comes to veganism, and she lists some resources (including BVR) that people can check out if they are interested in veganism. What did you think of the article?

Vegan SoulFest is Looking For Volunteers

Vegan Soulfest organizers need volunteers from 9am to 9pm on the day of the festival, August 20th. Email info@vegansoulfest.com with "Volunteer" in the subject line, hours that you can assist in the body of the email, and the best contact info for you. 

Haile Thomas Announces Details About HAPPY Chefs Summer Camp

This is Haile Thomas with First Lady Michelle Obama

Do you have children who love to cook? Don't miss the HAPPY Chefs Summer Camp. During the week of July 18th through the 22nd, campers will explore 5 cuisines: Indian, Italian, Japanese, Caribbean,and Thai as well as learn about the culture of the featured country!

HAPPY Chefs Summer Camp is the tastiest place for kids to learn to cook and to embrace healthy foods, and they are committed to making this possible for deserving kids this summer. Your child can enter a contest to win one of four scholarships to the summer camp. Find out more information HERE. 

Check Out Bria Bea's New Digital Look

Bria Bea, you know...the person who made that hilarious video "Things to Stop Saying to Black Vegans" has redesigned her digital space. She changed the name of her FB page to Unapologetically Bria Bea and her other social media pages to @beunapologtic.  Check it out and be sure to support her work! 

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

These lettuce tacos are the BOMB! I hope you enjoyed the video! Tangy, spicy, sweet, and chewy...what's better than that?? WANT THE RECIPE? Get it here ▷▷▷ www.hailevthomas.com Also as always, visit my website listed below for recipes, to sign up for my newsletter and follow me (the coolest person) on social media.

 

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. 

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