By Ms Jheri Worldwide
Staff Writer
Recently, I attended a Moral Mondays event with the Poor People‘s Campaign in downtown Raleigh. I brought my five-year-old German Shepherd, who was very friendly and adorable, if I can say so myself. An older black man remarked, “Wow! A peaceful German Shepherd, they used to chase us and bite us.” I was glad he was not intimidated by my dog, but I also took a moment to reflect on what he was truly communicating. I was very taken aback by this casual yet disturbing comment about his experiences and sentiments towards dogs. I thought about photos I’ve seen of protesters being hosed down and chased and bitten by dogs. I began to think about the historic relationship between African-Americans and dogs.
It is widely known that the enslaved were not permitted to read. Additional restrictions included marriage; permission was needed for travel, but did you know the enslaved also could not own dogs in most parts of the United States well into the Jim Crow Era?
The Jim Crow Museum researched our founding father, George Washington, who in 1792 wrote a letter to his estate manager at Mount Vernon. In the letter, Washington addressed issues about dogs on the estate. The president was very clear about his expectations regarding African Americans and their ownership of dogs. “It is not for any good purpose Negros raise, or keep dogs; but to aid them in their night robberies; for it is astonish to see the command under which their dogs are.” Washington also stated that if a “negro presumes under any pretence (sic) whatsoever, to preserve, or bring one into the family, that he shall be severely punished, and the dog hanged,” cited in the University of Virginia Press.
An 1805 code in Mississippi authorized “patrols and all other persons to kill all dogs owned or kept by slaves.”
Laws continued to regulate the relationship in 1806 further, a bill was passed in Maryland making it unlawful for any “negro or mulatto” within the state to keep any dog, except “he be a free negro or mulatto,” and in that case, he may be permitted to keep one dog and be responsible to obtain a yearly license to do so, via the Maryland Herald & Hagerstown Advertiser, 1807.
This dialogue on dogs is important because it further demonstrates the complex nature of African American mental health in today’s society. It has been clinically proven that dogs reduce stress, provide emotional support, reduce loneliness, and provide stability. So it makes sense that, as an additional human rights abuse of chattel slavery, such laws were enforced. This is in addition to the fear that slave owners constantly lived with of rebellion and destruction. It is unclear what became of these laws post-emancipation; more research is required. However, we still see dogs employed in law enforcement today. While pet ownership is by and large uncensored, there are certain breeds that are stereotyped, and ownership has been regulated by local animal control in certain situations. Dogs are still considered man’s best friend, but it is interesting to know the way the relationship has been regulated, manipulated to evolve to what it is today.
