TheVegucator Advancing Generational Well-Being and Prosperity
with Black Veganism By Dawn Hilton-Williams
I Scan the QR code to view the recipe for succulent “Best Krabby Cakes” by award-winning vegan chef, author and speaker, Dawn Hilton-Williams.
n the Federal Reserve’s latest survey on consumer finances, a glimmer of progress emerged, highlighting what appeared to be a narrowing of the unconscionable divide between Black and white median household net worth. While our households saw an encouraging increase, reaching $44,900, it was swiftly eclipsed by a white American household net worth bump to $285,000, which was six times greater. With examples of systemic economic disparities like this, it’s easy to understand why we’re focused on narrowing the wealth gap and replacing it with a duplicatable model capable of passing down investments, assets and other secure instruments from one generation to the next. However, there’s another front in the battle for equity that too often escapes our gaze — health.
face the shortest survival and highest mortality rates from nearly every major chronic illness. As we work to create wellbeing and generational prosperity, it’s imperative that we approach both health and wealth with equal urgency.
Is it my DNA?
Encouraged by the discovery of findings that underscore that our wellbeing is influenced by more than our genetics, esteemed publications and institutions such as the Lancet, World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine have presented thousands of peer reviewed findings, that redirect one’s attention from a presumed fate by DNA to an empowered state by choice of plate and the power of a whole food, plantbased (WFPB) lifestyle.
We lead the way
While veganism’s image often appears to reside in a predominantly white space, the plant-based ecosystem is brimming with Black, Brown and female voices that resound loudly and proudly. From Angela Davis, Dr. Amie Breeze Harper and Tracye McQuirter to Aph and Syl Ko, Babette Davis and Genesis Butler, African Americans are by far, the fasting growing segment of the movement; representing 8% of African Americans (3.2 million nationwide) compared to only 3% of Americans overall.
Enter Black veganism Springing from the same twisted tree of structural racism are the entwined branches of health and wealth. With the 2023 loss of 450,000 African Americans (1,232 souls a day) to preventable, arrestable and largely reversible chronic diseases, we
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While mainstream veganism traditionally aligns with animal ethics, it often overlooks our desire for the movement to confront injustices levied against Black and Brown bodies. This longstanding omission, noted by Breeze Harper, as “the overwhelmingly white U.S. vegan movement assumes racial
dialogue is unrelated to its goals,” created a space for the birth of Black veganism. Coined by sisters Aph and Syl Ko, the movement focuses on liberation through equity and ethics as well as a social, cultural and environmental lens unique to the Black and Brown experience.
Where do I start?
Whether beginning with a certified WFPB transition coach like me or finding free kickstart programs that incorporate meal plans and empowerment through evidencebased re-education is the best path for long term success. Below are a few free resources: • Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) pcrm.org/vegankickstart and pcrm.org/veganstarterkit • montgomeryheart.com/jumpstart If generational wealth is our north star, the adoption of a whole food, plant-based vegan lifestyle should serve as the stardust that illuminates the way. By removing systemic barriers to health and food justice equity and dismantling systems that perpetuate economic inequality, we forge a bright path for health and wealth sovereignty for generation and generation to follow.
5 Instagram pages to follow for health wealth • @sweetpotatosoul • @byanygreens • @turnipvegan • @shinewithplants • @torre.washington P
Dawn Hilton-Williams, AKA the Vegucator, is a whole food, plantbased certified (WFPB) nutrition professional, clinically endorsed, award-winning vegan chef, cookbook author, speaker, wellness equity activist and founder.