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African American women have a long history as plant-based pioneers and activists, including Rosa Parks, Dr. Alvenia Fulton, Coretta Scott King, and Angela Davis. African Americans are also the fastest growing vegan demographic in the country, at nearly three times the rate of adults overall. Yet, the majority of black women in the U.S. are experiencing a health crisis, with the highest rates of death and disability from preventable, diet-related diseases, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. McQuirter highlights some of the trailblazing history of black vegan women, including her own story, and explores the reasons that black women experience the worst health outcomes in the country and how they can take back control of their health with a plant-based diet.

Tracye McQuirter, MPH, is a writer, speaker, public health nutritionist, and 33-year vegan who has been teaching people how and why to live a healthy vegan lifestyle for the past 30 years. She is the recipient of multiple awards for her public health nutrition and vegan advocacy and was named a national food hero changing the way America eats for the better by Vegetarian Times. She’s the author of the book Ageless Vegan, which Library Journal starred as “raising the standard of plant-based cuisine,” and the national best-seller By Any Greens Necessary, which established her as one of the most influential vegans in the country. She directed the nation’s first federally funded vegan nutrition program and was a nutrition advisor for the Black Women’s Health Imperative. Tracye recently created the first-of-its-kind, free African American Vegan Starter Guide in partnership with Farm Sanctuary and previously co-created one of the earliest vegan websites 20 years ago, which was also the first by and for African American vegans. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Essence, Bon Appetit, Ebony, VegNews, The Huffington Post, and many more. Tracye is a graduate of Sidwell Friends School, Amherst College, and New York University, where she received a master’s degree in public health nutrition.