The Latinx Animal Rights Pioneer You Should Know About
For many of us who identify as persons of color, the mainstream vegan and animal rights movement can feel predominantly white. It is not a rare experience to be surrounded by crowds who exclusively cheer on white cis-male celebrity vegans, and to be on the receiving end of comments, campaigns, and slogans that are hurtful to our communities. Many of the widely-acknowledged organizations are white-led with little space offered to marginalized identities. We find ourselves working extra-hard to convince those in power that we, too, have something to contribute and that contrary to popular belief, people of color are the pioneers of liberatory struggles. Whenever we voice our concern about the centering of white men in the vegan movement, we are exposed to the same discourse we already face outside of the vegan movement. White veganism rarely addresses the effects colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, and supremacy have on both humans and nonhumans, skipping over the root causes of intensive animal farming and extreme social and political inequalities worldwide. There is a prevailing resistance to examine the intersections and the overlap of social justice issues and the ways in which white privilege impacts humans and nonhumans.
Marginalized identities make up the majority of the human population yet remain underrepresented in the mainstream vegan movement. If you think about it, it is baffling to see a movement for the liberation of animals to be led by privileged folks, often white, heterosexual, non-disabled men. In a sense, at no point in history did they have to face crippling oppression and risk their lives to liberate their identity. Does it really make sense to center those who often lack the understanding of what it truly means to be oppressed and to fight against supremacy? Why aren’t they asking us for guidance and leadership, and why are they so reluctant to pass on the mic to those who know best?
For those of us who work relentlessly for the liberation of nonhuman animals within this sphere, there is a lot of extra baggage we are made to carry. We are already dealing with daily obstacles within the supremacist society we live in. In addition to that, we have to fight our way through oppressive elements within the vegan movement itself. One of the many ways to eradicate the obstacles that prevent us from doing our work in the best way possible is to increase the visibility of those who should be taking center stage.
For instance, between September 15 and October 15, we celebrated Latinx Heritage Month, a great opportunity to support and uplift Latinx vegans and animal rights advocates. Did our movement do the work to center the Latinx voices of the animal rights movement, at the very least during this period? It seemed like it did not. Astounding if you think about how Latinx vegans and animal activists fight tooth and nail for the liberation of our nonhuman comrades. Cesar Chavez, the Mexican-American civil rights activist, was a powerful voice for animals since 1968, which is when he came to the realization that animals must be included in our fight against global injustice. César Chávez is mainly known as the man who fearlessly fought to unionize Californian farmworkers to improve their working and living conditions. Chavez gave people a sense of power and organized them to fight for their own liberation and demand dignity and respect in a society that was exploiting them intensively. He dedicated his life to make the world a better place and to bring justice to the most marginalized communities. Unknown to way too many of us within the animal rights movement: his advocacy included animals. Despite being referred to as a vegetarian, his niece Camila Chavez and people who knew him tell us that he was vegan and cared about animals just as much as he cared about humans.
In 1992, César Chávez gave a speech during his acceptance of a Lifetime Achievement Award given to him by the group In Defense of Animals.
"We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to make all people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect them and love them as we love ourselves. And that's the basis for peace. The basis for peace is respecting all creatures. We cannot hope to have peace until we respect everyone, respect ourselves and respect animals and all living things. We know we cannot defend and be kind to animals until we stop exploiting them – exploiting them in the name of science, exploiting animals in the name of sport, exploiting animals in the name of fashion, and yes, exploiting animals in the name of food."
Chavez took as much pride in introducing people to animal rights as he was in introducing them to labor rights. His legacy continues to inspire people worldwide to live a cruelty-free life that considers the rights of all sentient beings. We must come together to learn about the voices that have fought for animals at the intersections with other liberation movements, and inspire the masses to include animals in their cause, and recognize the interconnectedness of our shared struggles.
"Chavez went vegan after making the connection and knowing that when you fight against injustice that it should be for all species!" says Cesar Chavez's great grand niece Genesis Butler, the 14-year-old Black, Indigenous, and Mexican vegan activist whose advocacy has had an immense impact on her generation. She expresses that hearing his stories gave her the courage to speak out against injustices done to animals, humans, and the earth. Genesis went vegan at the age of 4, spoke at the IMPACT Summit in 2019, is one of the youngest people ever to do a TEDx talk, appeared in multiple documentaries, and is the youngest recipient of the Carlee and Laurie McGrath's Young Hero to the Animals Award. She also starred in an episode of the Marvel Hero Project in which she highlighted her compassion for animals, spreading her message for justice like wildfire.
These are the voices we want our movement to amplify and recognize as the leading forces of a revolutionary mission for justice. Oppressive forces work together, and so must we, and to do that, we must acknowledge the power of collective liberation and draw attention to the intersections of supremacist structures. Intersectionality is not a threat to veganism; it is its very foundation. Not only during Juneteenth, Latinx Heritage Month, and Indigenous People’s Day, but every day.
We must work collectively and respect all life without exceptions.
Ayse Deniz Kavur
