Facts About Social Justice Activists Not Related to Their Activism

December 10, 2018 8:58 AM

We are trying to integrate stories about civil rights and social justice activists in ways that go beyond the "textbook" narratives. For example, each year we will celebrate Rosa Parks on her birthday by making her pancakes (recipe here) (and we eat them on many other days, too - peanut butter pancakes, who knew they could be so delicious (and easily made vegan)).

So, what other fun facts about the holistic lives of famous radicals and freedom fighters do you have for us? Games they loved to play as kids or with their kids? Trinkets they kept in their pockets for good luck? Food involved? Even better.

We want to be telling these stories all the time, and throughout the year. And we want to humanize activists - makes it easier to understand our own and collective power - we all can do something. And bake something.

posted by anya32 to Society & Culture (6 answers total)

Comedian/activist Dick Gregory extended nonviolence to the treatment of animals and became a vegetarian. He wrote a health/cookbook called Dick Gregory's Natural Diet for Folks Who Eat: Cookin' with Mother Nature. I read it a very long time ago, and the part I remember was about his daughter being healed from some kind of bump on her arm by changing her diet. Also that he named one of his daughters "Miss" because that was the only way a young Black woman would be called "Miss" in the South.
I haven't seen the book anywhere for less than $100 recently. I think the book also advocated against milk, which seemed ridiculously extreme to me at the time, though I'm vegan now.
posted by FencingGal at 10:07 AM on December 10, 2018

Angela Davis did some of her earliest work in Alabama as a Girl Scout. She studied Alain Robbe-Grillet when she was at Brandeis. She also studied under Marcuse.

Bobby Seale wrote a BBQ cookbook. A few of the recipes are online. Black Panthers served grits as part of their free breakfast program.

The folks at Bread & Puppet have a bread and aioli thing they do. I've been trying to track down the recipe but I'm sure it's in the airwaves somewhere.
posted by jessamyn at 2:54 PM on December 10, 2018 [2 favorites]

Dolores Huerta was also an active Girl Scout.

Fannie Lou Hamer enjoyed spelling bees and reciting poetry as a student.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 3:28 PM on December 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

rbg loves opera and had a non singing cameo in a DC production.
posted by brujita at 7:04 PM on December 10, 2018

Sylvia Rivera's favorite pokemon was Pikachu!
posted by scruffy-looking nerfherder at 10:55 AM on December 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you all so much! I'll keep the thread open in case anyone has anything else to add.
posted by anya32 at 7:03 PM on December 13, 2018