Aph Ko is an American writer,

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

activist, and digital media producer. She is the author of '' Racism as Zoological Witchcraft: A Guide to Getting Out'' (2019), co-author of '' Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters'' (2017), and creator of the website Black Vegans Rock.

Early life and education

Ko has an older sister, Syl. Ko became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

in high school. She has a B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies and an M.A. in Communication/Media Studies.

Philosophy

Ko believes that "

Racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

uses animality as a vehicle to oppress any being that is not considered ‘human." She objects to common comparisons of animal exploitation to enslavement of humans. According to the UK Center for Animal Law, "citing the frequent metaphorical use of nonhuman animals to discuss racism and racial violence, Ko encourages her readers not to view violence against nonhumans as merely comparative to that which people of colour experience by the dominant racial class" but instead as "casualties of the project of ‘animality’, which is historically and contemporarily part of our own condition.” She argues this is an acknowledgement rather than a comparison, that “it is recognition that

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

’s ruthlessness isn’t limited to people of color.”

Black Vegans Rock

Annoyed that popular opinion was that only white people were vegans, Ko created List of 100 Black Vegans and a website, Black Vegans Rock. Huffington Post noted in 2016 that "searching the phrase “vegan people” on Google yields countless images mostly of young, smiling white people" and that the then-first image of a person of color was a photo of a hungry child captioned "When you eat meat, she doesn't eat," which framed the issue as one of wealthy white privilege. Ko intended the list and the website to "change the mainstream narrative" that veganism wasn't for Black people. In 2019 PETA said through the site Ko "has arguably done more to give black vegans a voice than any other media outlet today."

Books

She is the author of '' Racism as Zoological Witchcraft: A Guide to Getting Out,'' which was described by UK Center for Animal Law as "Establishing the connection between

and animal use, Ko urges a new form of resistance. Rather than taking an intersectional approach, where the two separate movements supposedly ‘meet’, Ko posits a multidimensional angle which recognises the inextricability of the ideologies from the start." She is co-author with her sister, Syl Ko, of '' Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters.'' ''Aphro-ism'' was described by Black Youth Project as "conceptualiz ngveganism in a way that de-centers whiteness and critiques the intersection of

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

, race-thinking, and animality." According to Black Youth Project, "The Ko sisters argue ''animality'' is a

Eurocentric Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism) is a worldview that is centered on Western civilization or a biased view that favors it over non-Western civilizations. The exact scope of Eurocentrism varies from the entire Western world ...

concept that has contributed to the oppression of any group that deviates from the white supremacist ideal of being—white Homo sapiens."

Awards

* 2015 Anti-Racist Changemaker of the Year Award,

Sistah Vegan Project Amie "Breeze" Harper is an American critical race feminist, diversity strategist, and author of books and studies on veganism and racism. Her ''Sistah Vegan'' anthology features a collection of writings by black female vegans. Life and career ...

Personal life

Ko lives in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

References

External links

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Black Vegans Rock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ko, Aph American veganism activists American women activists 20th-century American women writers Writers from Florida Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Activists from Florida 21st-century American women