Would You Harbor Me: Food Justice, Decolonial Vegan Politics, and Solidarity

The videos below are my keynote address for the Environmental Justice Conference on April 7 2012 at the University of Oregon-Eugene, hosted by the Coalition Against Environmental Racism. I speak about Angelia Davis’s ‘vegan’ stance on social justice, Queen Afua’s Afrocentric veganism as a form of decolonial politics, and how Sistah Vegan fills the ‘gaps’ that I see in some of the Afrocentric and Afrikan Holistic Health rhetoric.  I think it went “well” if you consider the fact that Eva Luna kept me awake all nite and then I had to wake up at 530 (after finally falling asleep at 430) to catch my morning flight. I love how babies don’t understand they should sleep when it is dark and that they should not want to play.

I also wanted to share this: I registered for school finally. Wahoo! Thank you all for your generous donations. I almost have everything that I need to pay off the bill that I just received last week. I am $900, short, so if you would like help with donations I appreciate it. This will help me be enrolled for spring and summer. I accept paypal donations to the email address breezeharper (at) gmail (dot) com. Your donations help me do the work that I do and I truly appreciate it.

Part I

Part II

I did want to note that in the talk I say that Queen Afua’s Sacred Woman doesn’t mention the terms animal rights, speciesism, or animal liberation. However, she draws her healing philosophies from the principles of Ma’at, that have the stipulation of “I shall not mistreat animals.” I did not make this clear during my lecture, so I do apologize.

Video: Race and Sistah Vegan Consciousness: Southwestern University, Feb 27 2012 Keynote Talk

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In this video, I am talking at Southwestern University’s “Brown Symposium: Back to the Foodture”, which looks at food from all different perspectives. This took place in Georgetown, TX on February 27, 2012

Also, these are the things I want to mention but didn’t get a chance to. I also want to give more context to this video.

1. This took place in Texas, at a university that was overwhelmingly white called Southwestern University. I have never been to Texas and didn’t know what to expect, since I had been invited to literally talk about race, whiteness, and veganism: three things I thought would probably be difficult to talk about in Texas. LOL. But I am conditioned to think these things because of media constructions of Texas. Of course Texas is not a monolith and that Rick Perry doesn’t necessarily represent a definitive consciousness of all living in Texas who are white racialized subjects.
2. Was given a vegan care package of “tastes of Texas” and discovered that Texas makes olives and olive oil. Was give the local brand “Texas Olive Ranch.” I was excited because I love olive oil tasting! Click here: Texas Olive Ranch
3. I really appreciated the mindfulness around “where my food comes from” by the students there. Southwestern University definitely has a “green” and “social justice” conscious. I certainly felt this throughout my stay there. Students held a food exhibition event in which audiences could learn about local food justice, food and sustainability, and food/nutrition education initiatives occurring in the local area. I met a young woman who was excited about figuring out creative ways for young children to enjoy “healthy” foods that most would think is “tasteless”.
4. Mad props go out to Laura Hobgood-Oster and Sue Smith for pulling this event off and really being their for us keynote speakers. Laura did something that I never seem to receive: being taken seriously as a professional woman who also wants to put her newborn FIRST. When I originally was asked to attend and be a keynote speaker, I think I signed my contract BEFORE I knew I was pregnant with Eva Luna (who is now 6.5 months old). Several months ago, I had the the courage to ask Laura if I could bring my daughter with me because I nurse on demand and do not want to leave her home on formula for two days. I asked if I could get this support, which would mean I would need a babysitter for about 2.5 hours for two of the talks I was required to give. Not only did she say yes, she and others made sure I had a stroller, a car seat, a high chair, a Pack n Play to make sure Eva Luna was comfortable. This is what it looks like to support a woman who wants to simultaneously do the type of work I do and be there for her newborn. It seriously takes a village y’all, and I thank Laura and others for simply understanding this. 
5. Professor Michael Cooper is awesome. I had dinner with him with other faculty on Monday evening. He is a music professor and he was uber excited that I had begun my talk with a song. He got me thinking about how I can merge my love of music with food justice. I told him about hip hop musicians/activists/vegans Supa Nova Slom, DJ Cavem Moetavation, and Stic.Man, and how I would love to do a post-doctoral research fellow that allows me to research how these young men are fusing hip hop consciousness with vegan food consciousness.
6. I got to meet Winona LaDuke, but have to admit that even though we were both keynote speakers, I was too shy to talk more. I am stupid for being shy, so sorry Winona if you’re wondering why I didn’t try to talk more.
7. The original title of my talk is something I didn’t explain during my talk. The original title in the Food symposium brochure is “On Being and Not Being the Wretched of the Earth: A Critical Race Feminist Analysis of Vegan Consciousness”. The reference of Wretched of the Earth is a book title by psychoanalysist and anti-racist, anti-colonialist Frantz Fanon. The Wretched  the Earth refers to those who have been racialized as “black subjects” and gone through hell due to a white supremacist/colonial society. My title inferred that those who are collectively part of the demographic of “wretched of the earth” (brown and black demographic I am studying in veganism) and those who are not (white middle class collectivity) have thematically different relationships with food, veganism, and the concept of animal rights.
8. Lastly, I am going to admit this now: what I am reading to the audience was completely IMPROV. I had written a 23 page talk about whiteness and vegan consciousness that I was going to read, but then literally changed my mind once I arrived on stage and felt that maybe I should talk about something else, or at least try to convey race, food, and consciousness in a very different way than what I had planned. I am a very open person, so I will admit that I had anxiety around talking only about whiteness to an audience of what seemed to be mostly white people, despite the energy of the campus being “liberal”. After my talk, an older white man came up to me and introduced himself as a speech coach. He said my message was powerful, but got lost in the 153 times I said “kind of”. I explained to him that I was nervous, had done it improv, and that I said “kind of ” because of the psychological difficulty I was having with talking about “whiteness” in that environment. I was intimidated. I will have to work on this, but I am wondering if he fully understood my reasons for being nervous. However, I do thank him for letting me know I said “kind of” and “um” one million times. I can try to be conscious of that and not say it next time, even when or if I am nervous.

Breeze Harper to speak at UC Berkeley, November 16, 2011 for Critical Animal Studies Series

 

Studying racialization in vegan cultural studies

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I am still raising funds for my continuation of my education and to finish my PhD for a graduation of summer 2012. If you would like to help the remaining $4000 that I need, you can send a paypal donation to the email breezeharper (at) gmail (dot) com.

Books:

Martinot, Steve. The Machinery of Whiteness : Studies in the Structure of Racialization. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2010.

Sullivan, Shannon, and Nancy Tuana. Race and Epistemologies of Ignorance, Suny Series, Philosophy and Race. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007.

Yancy, George. What White Looks Like : African-American Philosophers on the Whiteness Question. New York: Routledge, 2004.

“Angry asshole looking for racism with a chip on her shoulder”: Interpretations of Sistah Vegan Project

Breeze Harper

I ran across a vegan blog in which people were discussing my critical race vegan work; in particular, an article that I had published last year that looks at how access to certain vegan commodities in the USA are still contingent upon structural racism and poverty on the global scale. I also questioned why and how it is that certain white middle-class vegans really think veganism is a ‘single-issue’, and that as long as they aren’t ‘overt racist’, they need not think about racism, whiteness, and 1st world privilege. The article they were discussing is a small excerpt from my dissertation in progress, and the language is grounded in ‘academic writing’ and I come from the discipline of geography, so the concept of ‘space’ is crucial to my analysis.

After claiming he/she had looked at my blog, this one vegan referred to me as a ‘angry asshole looking for racism’ and ‘with a chip on her shoulder.’ So much anger and misunderstanding. I didn’t participate in the forum, just observed, but it reminded me of why I need to continue doing this work, despite my fellowship funding not being renewed for 2011-2012 academic year. This of course is not the first time I’ve seen such hate and anger towards the work I do. When I decided to engage in a discursive analysis of Skinny Bitch and show how it’s an example of normative whiteness, a white identified female vegan posted, “Get over your black self and just be human for a day” last year. And there was a complete Veganporn discussion, back in 2006, dedicated to why my Sistah Vegan anthology proposal was basically ridiculous. Some white identified folk didn’t know why it was important to consider race and gender within vegan culture in the USA; others were disgusted by my use of the word ‘sistah’ versus the ‘proper’ Standard English word of ‘sister.’ I didn’t participate in the forum, just observed and ended up writing an award-winning Master’s thesis during my graduate studies at Harvard University in 2007. A portion of this was recently published in an academic volume, chapter titled: “Veganporn.com & ‘Sistah’: Explorations of Whiteness through Textual Linguistic Cyberminstrelsy on the Internet.” Click here for more details: http://www.igi-global.com/bookstore/chapter.aspx?titleid=53775

If my work has benefited you, or you have enjoyed watching my health advice over the past few years, I’m wondering if you can return a favor. Please see the video below:

In this video I am asking for your help. My fellowship to pursue critical race and critical vegan studies at the doctoral level was not renewed for 2011-2012, through University of California, Davis. I would like to finish my PhD and need some help.

I know the goal may seem overwhelming, but I have about a combined support network/friends/followers of 1000 people (through Facebook, blog subscribers, and Twitter followers). If you could spare $10 to $25 a piece, then this goal could be met I think.

Paypal email donation: breezeharper (at) gmail (dot) com or go to the right side top of the screen and click on donation link.

UPDATE: As of June 9, 2011:

Donated: $1970

Needed for completion of goal: $8,030

Deadline: September 2011 (so I Can register for 2011-2012 academic year)

Other creative ways to help would be to buy a personalized signed copy of Sistah Vegan book directly from me if you don’t already have a copy or want to give it as a gift. Click on the image of the book on the right if you want to do that.

I also had one person ask if they can pay me to speak to their social justice group, via video Skype, for an hour. They agreed to pay me to do that, so that is another possibility.

I’m also open to doing paid talks and lectures that are no more than a 2 hour drive from where I live. Could fly out if I were not in my 3rd trimester, but driving there is still an option.

If you’re asking the question, “Why should I fund this woman? What has she done?” Please refer to my CV so you can see the type of person you are investing in and how ‘productive’ she can be
http://web.mac.com/sistahvegan98/research/Curriculum_Vitae.html

Critical race vegan studies PhD: Help a sistah out!

In this video I am asking for your help. My fellowship to pursue critical race and critical vegan studies at the doctoral level was not renewed for 2011-2012, through University of California, Davis. I would like to finish my PhD and need some help.

I know the goal may seem overwhelming, but I have about a combined support network/friends/followers of 1000 people (through Facebook, blog subscribers, and Twitter followers). If you could spare $10 to $25 a piece, then this goal could be met I think.

Paypal email donation: breezeharper (at) gmail (dot) com or go to the right side top of the screen and click on donation link.

UPDATE: As of June 5, 2011:

Donated: $1157

Needed for completion of goal: $8,843

Deadline: September 2011 (so I Can register for 2011-2012 academic year)

Other creative ways to help would be to buy a personalized signed copy of Sistah Vegan book directly from me if you don’t already have a copy or want to give it as a gift. Click on the image of the book on the right if you want to do that.

I also had one person ask if they can pay me to speak to their social justice group, via video Skype, for an hour. They agreed to pay me to do that, so that is another possibility.

I’m also open to doing paid talks and lectures that are no more than a 2 hour drive from where I live. Could fly out if I were not in my 3rd trimester, but driving there is still an option.

If you’re asking the question, “Why should I fund this woman? What has she done?” Please refer to my CV so you can see the type of person you are investing in and how ‘productive’ she can be
http://web.mac.com/sistahvegan98/research/Curriculum_Vitae.html

Connections: Racism, Speciesism, and Whiteness as The Norm

Hello my Sistah Vegan supporters. First, I wanted to thank those of you who have helped me towards my goal of finishing my PhD. The other week, I made a video that explained how my fellowship for my PhD work was not renewed. I was rather disappointed, as the fellowship helped me bring to you research and writing that applies critical race feminist analysis to the topic of veganism and health. It is incredibly difficult to do this type of work because critical vegan and critical race studies are often seen as ‘taboo’ and ‘too controversial’ within a country in which structural speciesism and structural racism continue to be the norm. I have reached $1000 of my $10,000 goal within about 10 days. I need $9000 more by September 2011 so I can register for school.

Second, I have a new chapter that has just come out in the volume Sister Species: Women, Animals, and Social Justice, edited by Lisa Kemmerer. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/025207811X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=sistvegawebs-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399349&creativeASIN=025207811X

My essay is Chapter Four: “Connections: Racism, Speciesism, and Whiteness as The Norm”

I was able to write these types of pieces because of my fellowship. If you want to learn more about how you can help me continue to do this type of work and finish my PhD, please read/listen further below.

My birthday was on Monday, May 30. I have a wish and am hoping that you can make this possible. Please click on the video below.

In this video I am asking for your help. I would like to finish my PhD and need some help.

Paypal email donation: breezeharper (at) gmail (dot) com or go to the right side top of the screen and click on donation link.

UPDATE: As of June 2, 2011:

Donated: $900

Needed for completion of goal: $9,000

Deadline: September 2011 (so I Can register for 2011-2012 academic year)

Other creative ways to help would be to buy a personalized signed copy of Sistah Vegan book directly from me if you don’t already have a copy or want to give it as a gift. Click on the image of the book on the right if you want to do that.

I also had one person ask if they can pay me to speak to their social justice group, via video Skype, for an hour. They agreed to pay me to do that, so that is another possibility.

I’m also open to doing paid talks and lectures that are no more than a 2 hour drive from where I live. Could fly out if I were not in my 3rd trimester, but driving there is still an option.

If you’re asking the question, “Why should I fund this woman? What has she done?” Please refer to my CV so you can see the type of person you are investing in and how ‘productive’ she can be
http://web.mac.com/sistahvegan98/research/Curriculum_Vitae.html

Veganporn.com & “Sistah”: Explorations of Whiteness through Textual Linguistic Cyberminstrelsy on the Internet (9781609605919): Amie Breeze Harper: Book Chapters

IGI Global: Veganporn.com & “Sistah”: Explorations of Whiteness through Textual Linguistic Cyberminstrelsy on the Internet (9781609605919): Amie Breeze Harper: Book Chapters.

Above is my latest academic publication.

-Breeze Harper

“People are in prison because they make that choice, Animals don’t”: Creating critical race literacies for a “post-racial” USA

“People are in prison because they make that choice, Animals have no choice”: Creating critical race literacies for post-racial whiteness in 2011 is a 25 minute long talk about how I attempt to create more effective dialogues with post-racial AR/Veg people, mostly white middle class, who do not understand how and why animal liberation cannot be successfully achieved if they ignore the realities of normative whiteness and structural and institutional racism in the USA.

Book List:

White Logic, White Methods: Racism and Methodology

Breeze Harper To Speak at UC Berkeley February 12, 10-11am

Breeze Harper and Sun Harper-Zahn at Sistah Vegan Book Signing, Farm Sanctuary (Orland, CA)

I will be giving the keynote talk at a UC Berkeley feminist studies oriented event on Feb. 12, 2011 , 10:00am-11:00am.

My keynote speech (and women of color caucus following) will be held at 101 Morgan Hall http://berkeley.edu/map/maps/AB23.html. The other workshops will still be taking place at Wheeler Hall if you’re interested in checking them out.

I’ll be talking about how to engage in intersectional analysis in feminist theory, using intersections of critical race theory, vegan studies, and black feminist theory as example. I’ll also be drawing on the importance of coalition building and thinking about how feminist inquiry must be tackled through understanding interlocking systems of oppressions. I’ll be reading excerpts from Sistah Vegan as well a draft chapters from my dissertation, tentatively titled: Situating Racialization, Racisms, and Anti-Racisms: Critical Race and Black Feminist Analysis of Veganism in the USA.