By Nadia McSlide
Why are there so few Black animal rights activists? Where are the Black volunteers at pet shelters? How come so many did not treat their pets as family, like so many of my White friends did? These are some of the questions I have asked as a Black person and an animal lover. So, I decided to delve into this topic to learn more about why many African Americans are not involved in animal rights causes. Animals are precious, and they need everyone’s love and support.
Growing up, I noticed that many African Americans did not view their pets as family, like many of my White friends did. I used to hear comments such as “Whites treat animals better than Blacks” or “I’m more than an animal, and they have their place, and we (humans) have ours.” Statements like these really bothered me because in my household, animals were everything to us. I also did not see any Black people volunteering at the local animal shelter that I used to frequent as a child. Eventually, I started to learn how some negative sentiments toward animals were rooted in devastating history.
Shontel Stewart of the University of Alabama School of Law wrote an article in the Michigan Journal of Race and Law titled “Man’s Best Friend? How Dogs Have Been Used to Oppress African Americans.” It talks about how slave masters forced their slaves to tie up and beat a dog severely, then run off right after freeing the animal. This was to breed hatred in the dog for Black people. This behavior and animosity between them lasted hundreds of years. Dogs were also used against peaceful protestors in the Civil Rights era and have now been carried on to modern police brutality. Eventually, I started to see why so many African Americans did not seem to trust animals.
In today’s time, there are Blacks who adore animals, but their involvement in animal rights activism is limited due to, for example, economic barriers. If someone is working long hours or multiple jobs, they will not have the time or energy to volunteer at a pet shelter or attend rallies. However, there are four suggestions that I have that will not hurt anyone economically but still help animals in need:
1. Donate $5.00 to a local shelter
2. Donate items such as cat litter, pet food cleaning supplies
3. Put out food and water, especially in extreme temperatures in the summer and winter.
4. If you see an animal of any species, simply wave and say “hi” and smile at them. If people look at you like you’re crazy, just say, “God made animals with souls, too.”
My mom told me of her teenage experience of coming across a black cat. The cat was very long and resembled a panther. She said ‘hi’ to him, and he immediately jumped into her arms. She held him for a while. Then, after being released, he walked away, never to be seen again. I wonder did this cat ever received love before, and if not, what difference this act of kindness that was shown to him made in his life.
I have noticed recently that throughout social media, there is a rise of many African Americans embracing pets as their fur babies, especially black cats, who were constantly demonized due to superstition. This is radically different from the 1990s era that I grew up in. It warms my heart watching so many videos of love shown toward animals from the Black community. I’m glad that the racial evils of the past that sewed animosity between Blacks and animals are now melting away.
Animals need all hands-on deck to help them with the care they require to survive and thrive. As we help them, they heal us, ultimately making this world better for all of us as we enter the dawning of a new epoch together.
