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The San Diego Monitor
SDMNEWS: Plant-Based being redefined Black Vegans Step Out, for Their Health and Other Causes DID YOU KNOW figures like Dick Gregory and Coretta Scott King were vegans? Younger, less famous writers, filmmakers, cooks and activists are catching the trend. “When you say ‘vegan,’ a lot of people tend to only think of PETA, which doesn’t reflect the massive landscape of vegan activism,” said Ms. Ko, 28, a Floridian whose favorite dish at the moment is the spinach pie in “The Vegan Stoner Cookbook.” “The black vegan movement is one of the most diverse, decolonial, complex and creative movements.” So many other people wanted to be included on the list after it appeared, she started a website, Black Vegans Rock. That spawned a Twitter hashtag (#blackvegansrock) and a T-shirt business. In June, she published ”Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters,” a book she wrote with her older sister, Syl Ko. Vegan cooking and eating are having a renaissance among black Americans, driven in part by movements like Black
Lives Matter, documentaries like “What the Health,” and a growing cadre of people who connect personal health, animal welfare and social justice with the fight for racial equality. Athletes like Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics and pop stars like the singer Jhené Aiko are bringing a certain pop culture cachet. Cookbook authors and a new breed of vegan soul food restaurants offer culinary muscle. “I no longer feel like an endangered species out here,” said Zachary Toliver, 26, a writer in Tacoma, Wash., who was on the 100 Black Vegans list and is now a columnist for PETA, the animal rights group, where he writes articles like “Here Are 11 Things You Can Expect to Happen if You’re Vegan While Black.” (No. 1: “You’re still just as nervous about whether or not your white friends properly seasoned the food.”) Like many food trends that seem new, black veganism has historical roots.
“I no longer feel like an endangered species out here,” said Zachary Toliver Cont. on pg. un
What do they Want you to KNOW? What Everyone Needs to Know About 2020 Census Questions By law, the U.S. government is required to count the number of people living in the United States every 10 years. Getting an accurate count is important because census numbers impact daily life in the United States in many ways. For example, census data are often used to determine how much federal funding is allocated for important projects and services that benefit local communities. The census also plays a vital role in our nation’s system of government by determining how many representatives will be sent to Congress from each state. Because getting an accurate count is so important, the process is designed to be fast, easy, and safe. On average, it takes no more than 10 minutes to answer the questions on the census. How Are Census Data Collected? During the first census in 1790, census takers visited nearly every U.S. home to gather data. In 2020, households will have the option of responding online, by mail, or by phone. The Census Bureau expects many households to complete the questionnaire online, using instructions received in the mail. These instructions will also include information about how to respond by phone. Some households will receive a printed questionnaire which they can mail, postage-free, back to the
Be Counted! SDMNEWS’S Motivation Information
Census Bureau. A small percentage of households, primarily located in remote areas of the country, will be visited by a census taker who will help collect the necessary information to complete the form. Who Receives the Census Questionnaire and How Is It Filled Out? Most housing units in the United States that receive mail at their physical location will receive a letter by mail with instructions on how to complete the census questionnaire. Housing units include houses, apartments, cabins, mobile homes—pretty much any place where people live in the United States. In areas where the majority of housing units do not have mail delivered to their physical location, census workers will leave questionnaire packages at every identified housing unit. The census process also includes special provisions to count people who are homeless and those in other types of living quarters, such as college dorms, military barracks, ships, prisons, nursing homes, and homeless shelters. The person in the housing unit who fills out the census questionnaire or talks to the census taker is known as Person 1. Typically, Person 1 is the owner/co-owner or renter/corenter of the housing unit. READ MORE sdmonitornews.com
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The San Diego Monitor
Tassili Ma’at, who owns Tassili’s Raw Reality in the historic West End community of Atlanta, teaches students how to make raw collard salad for Thanksgiving at Sevananda Natural Foods Market. She was vegan for 30 years, and changed to a raw-food diet about eight years ago to improve her health.
Like many food trends that seem new, black veganism has historical roots. Eating vegan has long been a practice, especially for followers of religious and spiritual movements like Rastafarianism and the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, a religious group with black nationalist underpinnings that rose up in the 1960s and still runs a chain of vegan restaurants in cities like Atlanta; Tallahassee, Fla., and Tel Aviv. Avoiding meat is also a core principle of the Nation of Islam, whose founders believed that pork was at the heart of the slave diet, and preached vegetarianism as the most healthful diet for African-Americans. Many people who give up eating animal products do it for their health, or for animal welfare. The same is true for the new veganism among African-Americans, but there is an added layer of another kind of politics. “It’s not just about I want to eat well so I can live long and be skinny,” said Jenné Claiborne, a personal chef and cooking teacher who recently moved to Los Angeles from New York. Her first cookbook, “Sweet Potato Soul,” is due out in February. “For a lot of black people, it’s also the social justice and food access. The food we have been eating for decades and decades and has been killing us.”
Ms. Claiborne, 30, is part of a new generation of vegan cooks who are transforming traditional soul food dishes, digging deeper into the West African roots of Southern cooking and infusing new recipes with the tastes of the Caribbean. As a result, ideas about the dull vegan stews and stir-fries that were standard-bearers among the early generations of black vegan cooks are changing — albeit slowly. “Some folks are kind of stuck in the ’70s,” said Jessica B. Harris, 69, an author and a food scholar of the African diaspora. “Their food seems to come with a dashiki. And don’t tell me it’s like fried chicken when it’s tofu.” Bryant Terry cooks to counter the old ideas about vegan food. The chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, Mr. Terry, 43, wrote “Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean and Southern Flavors Remixed,” a 2014 cookbook that regularly makes it to the top 10 soul food cookbook rankings on Amazon. His recipe for millet cakes is bright with the brick-red Ethiopian spice blend berbere. He likes to serve it with a sauce built from roasted green peppers, garlic and cilantro, and infused with heat from jalapeños. READ MORE SDMONITORNEWS.COM
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The San Diego Monitor
SDMNEWS Must Read 2020 CA Census Guide Table of Contents Section 1: General Information (PDF) •
Initiative and Referendum Qualification Requirements
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Candidate Qualifications and Information
Section 2: Nomination Requirements (PDF) •
Presidential Candidates
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United States Representative in Congress, and Member of the State Legislature Candidates
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Nomination Documents – Nomination Papers and Declaration of Candidacy
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Signatures In Lieu of Filing Fee
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Signatures In Lieu of Filing Fee and/or Nomination Papers
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Ballot Designations
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In General
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Campaign Filings and Responsibilities
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Candidate Intention Statement
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Campaign Contribution Account
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Exceptions
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Additional Filing Information
Section 3: Candidate Filing Information (PDF) •
Required Filing Fees, Nomination Signatures
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Write-In Candidates for the Office of President
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Write-In Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices
In-Lieu
Signatures,
Section 4: Candidate Checklist (PDF) •
President of the United States
•
United States Representative in Congress
For download please go to www.sdmonitornews.com
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For most indicators, low inequality is defined as being within 5 percent of parity, medium between 5 and 25 percent, high between 25 and 50 percent, and extremely high as greater than 50 percent from parity. Most indicators of gender inequality are measured as female-to-male ratios ranging from zero to 1. Data for 2015 are taken from end-2014 and data for 2019 are taken from end-2018. Africa’s GPS for 2019 is the same as four years previously. Across Africa, the only indicators on which there has been progress—in aggregate—are legal protection and political representation. All other indicators have stayed the same or even regressed in some countries.
The San Diego Monitor For most indicators, low inequality is defined as being within 5 percent of parity, medium between 5 and 25 percent, high between 25 and 50 percent, and extremely high as greater than 50 percent from parity. Most indicators of gender inequality are measured as female-to-male ratios ranging from zero to 1. Data for 2015 are taken from end-2014 and data for 2019 are taken from end-2018. Africa’s GPS for 2019 is the same as four years previously. Across Africa, the only indicators on which there has been progress—in aggregate—are legal protection and political representation. All other indicators have stayed the same or even regressed in some countries. The journey toward parity differs substantially among African countries. South Africa has the highest GPS at 0.76, indicating medium gender inequality. Mauritania, Mali, and Niger have the lowest scores at 0.46, 0.46, and 0.45, respectively (extremely high inequality). Although the overall picture is one of stagnation or even reversals in the journey toward parity, some countries have shown remarkable improvement on some indicators. For instance, Rwanda and South Africa have increased women’s representation in middle-management roles by 27 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
POWERED BY PLANTS: HEMP CBD & PLANT-BASED A growing number of people are adopting more natural fitness practices, and these trends are also dominating health & fitness products. Plant-based diets, supplements and remedies are quickly becoming the top choices for clean, healthy & sustainable living… and for good reason! Plants are powerful and they can provide just about everything we need. Plant proteins like hemp, pea and soy have steadily replaced a lot of whey powder products over the last decade, and you can find superfoods and micro-greens added to many protein products. Plant-based products have begun to creep into every aisle of your local health & fitness store as vegan & vegetarian lifestyles continue to grow in popularity, and the benefits of plant-based diets become more well known. There’s a revolution taking root in the vitamin and food departments when it comes to plant-based products, but there’s also a surge in plant-based medicines. Hemp CBD for pain & inflammation, naturopathic remedies for skin conditions, and a host of plant-based remedies for the common cold have become some of the most popular items in the country when sickness or ailments strike. If there’s something you need, there’s probably a plant-based alternative already on the market – and if not, there’s always the ultra-versatile Hemp CBD (but more on that later). Whether you’re a ‘beleafer’ in the validity of plant-based alternative products or not, the science is steadily showing that many people can benefit greatly from a reduction in animal-derived products and an increase in their intake of fruits, vegetables and a variety of plant-based supplements.
Allergies to products containing dairy, gastrointestinal issues related to ingesting too much animal protein, and the overarching problem of toxicity in many conventional foods today has led many health & fitness conscious individuals to seek out the clean, natural and nourishing power of plants. What kinds of plant-based products, diets and lifestyles are out there? Which ones are best for you? It’s time to eat your vegetables, blend up your daily servings of fruit and take your hemp CBD because we’re going to adjust our focus to the world of plant-based living and show you just how beneficial it can be for your health & fitness. Before we get go further into plant-based diets and all the nutritious power of plants, let’s focus in on how they can heal us and help us achieve our fitness goals. Plant-based medicine is one of the oldest traditions on the planet – since our earliest days, humans have relied on what nature provides to soothe aches, cure diseases, and support our health & fitness in order to not just survive, but thrive. There is archaeology, in cooperation with botany and the natural sciences, has discovered many examples of ancient peoples using plants in a remedial capacity. Certain plants were revered for their spiritual significance, such as cannabis and psilocybin, but they also have helped to shape our biochemistry over the centuries. We almost unwittingly improved upon our mental and physical health by consuming certain plants like these, and some studies are even delving into the possibilities of psilocybin having impacted our actual evolution by ways of neurogenesis Cont. on pg.11
California Census Chief: Don’t Be Invisible. Counting Everyone Comes Down to Money and Power Charlene Muhammad | California Black Media
Even if you have people living with you who are not on your lease – or say your affordable housing application - you should still make sure they are counted during the 2020 Census, says Ditas Katague, director of the California Complete Count office. “No enforcement agency, federal, local, or anything, can get that data,” she assures Californians. “It’s safe.” Last week, Katague visited Los Angeles county, the hardest-tocount area in the United States and also a region in the state with census tracts where the most African Americans live. She was on a stop that was part of a statewide push to encourage all Californians to respond to next year’s census forms. She sat with California Black Media writer Charlene Muhammad to talk more about the state’s $187.3 million investment to get an accurate count of all Californians. Katague also shared details about what her office has been doing so far to achieve it, and she give some insights on why it has been so hard for census workers to get the African-American count right in the past. CALIFORNIA BLACK MEDIA (CBM): What has your office done to reach out to Blacks in California – particularly to the the Black population here in Los Angeles?
DITAS KATAGUE (DK): As you know, statewide, the money and the investment that both the governor and the legislature have made across the state have been unprecedented. That’s because California is the hardest-to-count state in the country. In fact, the City of L.A. is the hardest-to-count city and Los Angeles County is the hardest-to-count county in the hardest-to-count state. So, even though our efforts are unprecedented, these are the reasons that we need to do that level of outreach. The U.S. Census is actually a federal operation, and so here at the state level, we don’t control any of the actual counting. We don’t design the form, but what we can control is reaching out, educating our Californians to make sure that they know how important it is to respond. And to that end, we’ve divided the state. We’ve used data to really inform our partners on the ground about where they should be reaching out and to whom. I’m up in Sacramento. Nobody wants to listen to me about why they should be filling out the form. It’s really about getting the word out through trusted community partners on the ground, and really connecting with folks to say why is it so important and what an accurate count means for them on the ground. READ FULL INTERVIEW sdmonitornews.com
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The San Diego Monitor
Plant-based (the creation and mapping of new pathways in the brain). If you don’t already subscribe to the cultural, medical and psychological importance of plants, what’s holding you back? We probably understand why you’ve never invested much time or energy into the efficacy of plant-based medicine: there are cultural and societal stigmas swirling around plants like cannabis, hemp and mushrooms like a kicked-up nest of hornets. In ancient times, healing plants and their remedial products were simply a part of everyday life; today, we have modern medicine, a greater scientific understanding, and endless amounts of data to rely on for matters of health. It may not be apparent why we have strayed away from natural medicines over the years, but the usual suspects are lack of research data, lack of support for health professionals, and a general negative attitude towards any changes to the current” pharmaceutical medical system. As many people all over the world are rediscovering plantbased medicines that were once prominent in centuries past, the medical community is playing catch-up with analytical testing and applying their findings to this growing industry. One plant-based remedy that has taken the worlds of health & fitness by storm is Hemp CBD. Recently legalized by the Federal US Gov’t with the passing of the Farm Bill (December 2018), CBD derived from hemp is now accessible to all Americans where before only a small number used, or even knew about CBD from cannabis or its close-cousin hemp. Cananbidiol (CBD) has been used by millions of people for reducing their pain & inflammation and treating a variety of ailments such as Parkinson’s, Epilepsy, Insomnia, Depression and PTSD. CBD is so widely used that it has also been unrestricted by WADA (World Ant-Doping Agency), therefore approved for professional athletes to use at all levels of competition. Although CBD is now approved for both fitness and health professionals, it’s the fact that everybody – young, old, fit, infirm – can wield it as a powerful, natural defense against sickness and injury. Cannabidiol has gained a lot of traction in the United States this past year for its ability to combat soreness, reduce swelling, enhance energy & focus, improve rest & recovery, and soothe a long list of conditions like nausea, stress or anxiety. If it seems like CBD is a bit of a ‘cureall’, you’re not wrong in thinking so; Cannabidiol derived from hemp is being applied across the spectrums of health, from providing neurological to cardiovascular benefits, gastrointestinal support to muscle development.
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