The History of vegan activist; the veganism movement started a long time ago

BY RACHEL MARY RILEY

Have you ever heard the term that history truly repeats itself? The veganism movement started a long time ago. There are many perspectives on being a vegan, either way there are its benefits and cons.

Some activists back in the day had a revelation about vegan life. I have a few people who strongly believe in living a vegan life.

Coretta Scott

Did you know that Coretta Scott was an advocate for animal rights, as it was a logical extension of MLK’s philosophy of non-violence?  She was a vegan for more than 10 years before her death (“The Vegan Kind,” 2022).

Angela Davis

Dr Angela Davis is a famous scholar, activist, writer and vegan. She addresses the suffering that the: meat, dairy and egg industry inflicts on both animals and humans, commenting that, “[S]entient beings … endure pain and torture as they are transformed into food for profit, food that generates disease in humans whose poverty compels them to rely on McDonald’s and KFC for nourishment” (The Vegan Kind, 2022). She encourages everyone to ask more questions concerning what is on their plates and believes that mindful eating is the key to healthy living.

Dr Amie Breeze Harper

Dr Harper, a black vegan intersectional scholar, is the creator of the Sistah Vegan Project and editor of “Sistah Vegan: Black Female Vegans Speak on Food, Identity, Heath and Society,” which discusses what it means to be a black female vegan, (The Vegan Kind, 2022).

Benjamin Zephiniah

Poet and Musician Benjamin Zephiniah went vegan at the age of 16 after befriending the local cats in his neighbourhood and realizing that animals were his friends. Veganism brings Benjamin peace, as he comments, “When I eat, I have a clear conscience,” (The Vegan Kind, 2022).

David Carter Former

NFL player and animal rights advocate, David Carter, switched to a vegan lifestyle after watching the documentary “Forks Over Knives.” While he was inspired to transition to a vegan diet to improve his health, he was also passionate about the plight of animal suffering, stating in relation to veganism that, “It’s not just about our bodies. It’s not just about our health. It’s about humanity,” (The Vegan Kind,2022).

Alice Walker

Alice Walker is a civil rights activist and author—and the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for literature. She once said, “If I’m eating food, I know it was a creature in a cage, it brings up memories of segregation and the stories from my ancestors, of being in captivity and denied their personalities, their true beings. Animals were not made for us, or our use. They have their own use, which is just being who they are.”  

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist and leader dubbed the “Mother of the freedom movement” by Congress; she was also a vegetarian. She’s best known for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, sparking the 1955-1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott that ultimately led to the end of public segregation in the South. Not only did she hold firm on that bus in Alabama—a radical act of rebellion at the time—she also stayed true to her goal of leading a life that minimized others’ suffering by refusing to eat meat.