'I thought black vegans were mythological beings'

by Lucy Moore | 18 August 2016

Aph Ko is a blogger, performer, vegan, and independent digital media producer. She wrote the first article that listed 100 Black Vegans- so we caught up with her to talk to her about her reasons for making the switch.

Aph Ko speaking at Whidbey Intersectional Justice conference. Photo credit: Pax Ahimsa Gethen

Please tell us about your personal journey into veganism.

I am always talking about veganism in the public sphere, however, I usually talk about it in a super political way. I've never really shared my own personal journey. I was vegetarian in high school, and when I was 17, I worked at a vegan restaurant. I remember my sister Syl went vegan after a while and that was the first time I ever heard of a black person practicing veganism. I thought black vegans were mythological beings. When I was an undergraduate majoring in Women's and Gender Studies, Syl sent me Sistah Vegan. After I read it, I passed it on to one of my other sisters. Sistah Vegan got me interested in trying to research natural ways of alleviating the HORRIBLE cramps I experienced during my period. I really can't stress enough how bad my periods were. I mean, I would have to miss days of class and work, and I even started taking cold medicine just so I could sleep through my periods. I remember one time I was at work when I got my period (I worked at a kiosk in the mall) and I literally had to lie on the floor because I couldn't stand up. The pain made me immune to public shame at that point, lol.

That's how bad my periods were. It felt like I was in labour. I remember going to the doctor and my appointment lasted for around 5 minutes, despite the fact that I waited two hours in the waiting room. The doctor suggested I go on birth control pills to control the cramping. He didn't ask me one question about my diet or lifestyle.

So, I went on birth control pills. Personally, I hated them. My breasts grew a cup size (I know…very personal stuff here lol), my vision got worse, I experienced headaches and my moods were out of control. After three months, I started developing horrific chest pains. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest and I decided to stop taking the pills at that moment despite the fact that my doctor wanted me to try a different brand of birth control pills. I considered veganism, but I didn't go vegan at that point. I was still vegetarian. I still thought veganism was an "extreme" way of living. So, I went off the pill and resorted to my old, unhealthy ways of dealing with my cramps.

I started graduate school and I took some amazing political classes. When you're exposed to super radical ways of thinking, you start to notice issues in spaces that you never noticed before. In other words, taking the time to learn about one oppression can often open up doors to learning about other oppressions.

I remember I was taking a super radical class where we regularly talked about systemic oppression and I brought up animal oppression. The overall vibe shifted in the room. When I brought up veganism, I remember my professor stated, "Not everyone can afford to go vegan." There was like no critical examination of what I was saying, or any attempt to actually hear me out. There was an automatic dismissal. I thought it was odd that in a class where we were thinking about systemic issues, scholars couldn't logically factor in animal bodies into their analyses…even on the theoretical level. At the end of the semester, we were told to bring in food to celebrate the end of class and some students brought in animal products and I couldn't help but feel upset that we sat in this class for a whole semester and still, speciesism just didn't seem to matter at all.

That started my journey into veganism. It took me a while to claim the label "vegan" despite the fact that my diet reflected it. I felt like so much baggage came with the term and I just didn't want to deal with it. However, one day, I just claimed the label. I don't think the vegan label captures all of my politics in the ways that I want it to, but it will do for now.

What prompted you to compile a list of Black vegans who were doing incredible work within veganism?

Well, at the time, I was reading a lot of articles from mainstream spaces about how "white" the vegan movement was. Within these articles, white authors would basically tell white people that the vegan movement needs to stop being so white…and within these conversations, vegans of colour were ironically erased (or maybe the only black vegan brought up was Dr. Breeze Harper lol). I think a lot of mainstream white people assumed that talking about whiteness would somehow make it go away…which it didn't, lol.

So, rather than just critiquing white spaces and participating in the spectacle of whiteness, I just looked in a different direction and decided to spend all of my free energy spotlighting black vegans who were being excluded during these conversations about how white the movement was.

I like using creativity to work out complex situations. I believe oppressed people are extremely creative and will always find ways to combat marginalization.

I would actually call the 100 Black Vegans list a "performance art piece" more than just a traditional blog post. The list was meant to serve as a commentary on the ways that we talked about whiteness in the movement, and it urged people to act, rather than just re-centre whiteness by talking about it over and over. By privileging black and brown perspectives, we ARE de-centering whiteness.

Please tell us about how your list took off and attracted more attention.

I honestly didn't think anyone would pay much attention to the list outside of my family and close circle of vegan friends. However, I saw how much traction the list was getting and I was really excited because I wanted to show people that there are multiple ways of fighting white supremacy. I think other people thought the list was a refreshing, creative way to deal with a problem. It's still getting a lot of traction which is great. The list really spread by word of mouth.

Vegan olympian Seba Johnson, Aph Ko and Brenda Sanders (the co-founder of Vegan SoulFest in Baltimore)

Who has inspired you most from those who are on your list?

My biggest inspiration is Angela Davis. I started reading all of her books when I was 17 years old. At that time, I was absolutely obsessed with black liberation. I remember reading her autobiography and I was in awe of her courage and intelligence. Also, the fact that she went vegan is absolutely incredible. As an activist, your lifestyle should reflect your politics, so it makes sense to go vegan, especially if you're all about dismantling white supremacy and patriarchy. Radical activists must always find connections between other oppressions and must always politically evolve. Angela Davis is the epitome of radical activism.

How much has your degree and masters helped you to get this project off the ground?

This is a complex question. Let me back up a bit. I was an activist before I was an academic. I became a feminist around 16 years old. At that point in time, social justice blogging wasn't really as big as it is now. So, I would actually type up short articles on my type writer and put these articles in my car. When I would give rides to my friends, I would make them read my articles. I was one of those annoying friends who would spend hours outside of a coffee shop rambling about sexism in our society until my friends got sleepy, lol. When I was 17, I started reading radical black literature that pretty much helped me determine that I wanted to do activist work forever. I majored in Women's and Gender Studies as an undergrad, but I started realizing how all of the literature I was exposed to was really white. The feminist theory we read was predominantly written by white women and I started disconnecting with the whole field a bit.

Graduate school definitely helped me evolve politically because I met some incredible professors who changed my life. I started fine-tuning my critical thinking skills, however, I felt like academia was suffocating my activist sensibilities. Activism takes a lot of risk and a willingness to say things that aren't necessarily comfortable, and in academia, while there is certainly space to do activist work, there's pressure to remain silent about certain things out of fear of not getting a job or tenure. One professor even told me that writing about veganism was a "career killer." No joke. So, I started critiquing academia while I was enrolled. I made web series that critiqued racism, sexism, and ableism in academic environments, and I then realized that the university setting probably wasn't the best space for me at the moment. So, while I was exposed to some amazing theory and professors in academia, I wouldn't completely credit my academic programs for moulding me into the activist that I am now.

Please tell us about your comedy web series Black Feminist Blogger.

Black Feminist Blogger was a DIY scripted comedy web series I created based upon some of my real experiences blogging online. I wanted to show how competitive and exploitative the feminist blogging landscape was. While so many people write and create websites, workplace comedies and dramas leave out people who work online where there's a whole new environment of stresses and exploitation. As someone who has had some pretty absurd experiences working online, I needed a space to vent out my frustrations. So, I created a scripted comedy where I played a queer black feminist blogger named Latoya who works for an online feminist magazine called Sapphire Mouth Magazine. Latoya works for a white woman named Marie (my sister Syl did the voice for Marie) who is super exploitative and desperate to get page clicks. As the series unfolds, you see how blogging online destroys Latoya's social life because she is too busy to even leave her apartment. It was just a fun project I worked on to deal with my frustrations. When I get frustrated, I like using my creativity to make projects. It's therapeutic. I feel like it's a productive way of venting, and it allows others to relate to you in a funny way.

You were awarded with the 2015 Anti-Racist Vegan Change Maker of the Year- so how did it feel to receive such an accolade?

It was an awesome form of validation for the work I have been doing. Also, the award allowed me to examine my work from a different angle. When you're busy doing the work, you don't get to experience your space the way others do. Very rarely do I get a chance to just look at Black Vegans Rock or experience it. So, when I get awarded for things, it provides me with an opportunity to stop and look at what I'm doing which is a surreal experience.

I would also say that getting awarded can be a little intimidating because people can put you on a pedestal that you never asked to be on. People start to have certain expectations and they think you know what you're doing, when in reality, no one really does. Your public image starts to get disconnected from who you really are which can be stressful. So, to summarize, it's such an honour to get awarded, but it's also intimidating!

What is next for you?

I have a few projects lined up. I'm still working as an Associate Producer for the documentary film Always in Season by Jacqueline Olive which will be on PBS next year. I am going to co-edit the second volume of the Sistah Vegan anthology tentatively titled The Praxis of Justice in an Era of Black Lives Matter (which I'm REALLY excited about). Also, Aphro-ism (my website) is in the works of being turned into a book which is why I've slowly started taking down essays from the site.

I don't necessarily have a direction when it comes to activism. I'm just trying to contribute what I can, when I can.

Aph Ko will be at VegFestUK.