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Doing It My Way
Talking Veganism and Self-Care With Tabitha Brown
America’s favorite auntie and social media influencer is shining her light in an otherwise bleak world
You wouldn’t necessarily know it by scrolling social media, but African Americans make up the largest demographic of vegans in the United States, at 8% of all African American adults, according to a Pew Research Center study.
And while plant-based diets aren’t necessarily new to Black communities, their recent surge in social media popularity could be do in large part to actress and TikTok influencer Tabitha Brown, whose viral vegan videos have made her a household name among both meat-free fans and the general population. And it all started with a sandwich.
In 2017, while working at Macy’s and driving for Uber to make ends meet as an actress, Tabitha Brown filmed a video of her eating the now famous TTLA sandwich from Whole Foods. The sandwich, known for its tempeh bacon, tomato, lettuce, and avocado, has since taken on new life. So has Brown.
The viral video, which has 2.9 million views to date and prompted the #TTLAChallenge, led to an ambassadorship with Whole Foods, and the rest, as they say, is social media history.
