Image Text: POWERFUL SPEAKER: Aph Ko (PHOTO CREDIT: Pax Ahimsa Gethen)

IN ONE of her powerful YouTube videos, US writer and vegan Aph Ko reasons that if we, as black people, don’t take animal oppression seriously, we’re “siding with white supremacy.”

It’s a hard-hitting statement that will either evoke intrigue – or a swiftly-issued eye roll from black folks, who refuse to entertain the idea of aligning themselves with animals.

For Pennsylvania-born Ko, race and animal oppression go hand in hand. It’s a view that is held by countless black vegans, but with the promotion of veganism often being dominated by white people, issues of race are frequently overlooked when discussing the lifestyle.

Ko launched her website Aphro-ism, and the digital platform Black Vegans Rock to counter this balance. She will also share her views when she gives two presentations at the upcoming vegan festival VegFest London.

Here, the feminist blogger talks to Life & Style about embracing a meat-free diet and the need for black vegans to discuss animal oppression from their own standpoints.

How do you describe Aphro-ism and when and why did you decide to launch the site?

Aphro-ism is a website dedicated to critical analysis from a black vegan feminist perspective. My sister Syl and I offer new ways of thinking about cultural phenomena and we create new connections between oppressions. We don’t prize page clicks or garbage analyses. We want our readers to take their time reading our articles. My sister Syl and I used our different backgrounds in philosophy, communication, cultural studies, media studies, and anti-racism to create new ideas. It’s a fun space.

When and why did you decide to adopt a vegan lifestyle?

I decided to adopt a vegan lifestyle when I was near the end of graduate school a few years ago. I was taking some amazing classes that dealt with critical thinking, race, gender, etc. However, I remember I once brought up animal oppression in a class and no one seemed to take it seriously. I was bothered by that rejection because I didn’t understand how we were able to talk about oppression in one instance, and then completely glaze over the issue when we brought up the suffering of animals. It bothered me and led me to veganism.

I was bothered by the fact that social justice activists who were so committed to overturning oppression, couldn’t even factor in animal oppression, or even consider not eating meat. It was scary to realise people were so brainwashed that they couldn’t stop. As activists, we should be on a constant quest to learn about oppression.

In one of your YouTube videos, you argue that if we, as black people don’t side with the animals, we’re siding with white supremacy. Can you break that down?

The reality is, “animal” is wrapped around race. This is why the most ideal human being is a white man, and the most undesirable, primitive being is an “animal.” They are opposites because they both are racial spaces that bolster white supremacy. Black folks need to start understanding how our negative attitudes about animals strengthens white supremacy.

What do you think it is that stops more black people from considering this view?

Unfortunately, a lot of black folks adopt a white-centric world view in almost all of our social justice movements. So, we tend to be exposed to veganism or animal oppression through documentaries made by white folks – that don’t include any analysis about race – or theory written by white folks, or even campaigns created by white people. This directly impacts how we understand what animal oppression is and this can be troubling because black people have a very different social experience than white folks.

There are even a lot of black vegans who are quite Eurocentric and don’t understand how race fundamentally connects to animality outside of a superficial understanding.

So is it safe to assume you’ve found it challenging to get black people to embrace or even consider this point of view?

I don’t think it’s hard getting black folks to embrace this perspective. The hard part is actually getting that perspective out there when knowledge from black vegans is written over and stomped on by larger, more dominant white perspectives that are universalised. Black vegans are very rarely allowed to produce theory about animal oppression from their own standpoints. We are expected to join white vegan movements and serve as diversity tokens to make their movements look diverse. That’s troubling and I openly fight against that.

Are you looking forward to participating in VegFest London and what can audiences expect from you?

I am extremely excited. I guess people can expect deep analyses and new ways of thinking. I love exposing audiences to new ideas just so that they can engage in critical thinking. I have been working really hard on my presentations and I hope people enjoy it and absorb my messages.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

That’s a hard question, but I’d have to say being asked to be an Associate Producer for the documentary film Always in Season, which will be on PBS next year.

Do you have any more projects in the pipeline?

I will be releasing a book next year about black veganism, feminism, and pop culture so stay tuned!

For more information on Aph Ko, visit www.aphko.com. VegFest London will take place at Olympia London, Hammersmith Road, London W14 on October 22 and 23. For more information, visit www.london.vegfest.co.uk