Black Americans are more likely to be vegan than white Americans, but the public positioning of the largely white-led vegan and animal-rights movements has been challenged for years by many in the community.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a leading animal-rights group, has drawn criticism for comparing animal cruelty with human slavery since at least 2005. In 2020 PETA produced a Super Bowl ad depicting animals taking a knee, invoking Black Lives Matter protest actions by NFL players. The ad was rejected, but not before it drew sharp backlash on social media.
About 8% of Black Americans are vegan, compared to 3% of all Americans, the BBC notes. But “mainstream veganism is overwhelmingly white and inaccessible,” a widely-seen Instagram post argued in June, as the protests responding to George Floyd's killing spurred discussion across many areas of U.S. society.