Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for human rights benefited animal rights

Animal rights were and are inherently benefited by Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for human rights. The two go hand-in-hand. It’s not surprising because the human is the human-animal. We have to accept that no matter how arrogant we might be and self-obsessed with our importance. No matter what the Bible preached to us in times gone past – the superiority of human over animal. A mistake and an outmoded attitude.

Martin Luther King and police dog. Picture in the public domain.

PETA highlights the point in an excellent article in which they equate the slavery and torture of animals today with human slavery in the past. And they equate the civil rights movement, so brilliantly led by Martin Luther King Jr., with today’s movement to improve animal rights. There is a lot of work to do. PETA has allowed us to use their imagery from their website. I have published two of them here together with a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. with a dog in the back of a police car.

: Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for human rights benefited animals rights.

: Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for human rights benefited animals rights.

It is said that the picture was taken on June 18, 1964. Martin Luther King Jr. was placed in the police car in St Augustine, Florida, USA. The police put a German shepherd police dog in the car in an attempt to intimidate him. As you can see in the photograph they made friends. A testament to the goodness that emanated from this great man. They say that dogs can recognise a kind person. It’s a great public relations image and an image that works against the police’s attitude.

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