A shockingly racist "tribute" to Martin Luther King
Last week was the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech, arguably the most important moment in the struggle for equal rights for blacks in the face of segregation and denial of rights - especially the right to vote. As a way to "celebrate" the anniversary of this speech, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals posted a shockingly racist picture to their Google Plus page:
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F62248c24-f74b-4c75-a8ef-76fbe8c6d5c3_480x532.jpeg)
Surely the folks at PETA know that racists have a long history of comparing blacks (especially black men) to primates. Black men were dehumanized as animalistic, rabidly sexual creatures who were a threat to innocent white women. This led to the murder of many black men since Reconstruction, including the horrific murder of Emmett Till - who was 14 years old when he was tortured to death by a gang of racists. This is what they did to him:
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1c44b89d-b914-4892-96dd-3a29752757e7_500x500.jpeg)
That is why it is so despicable for PETA to equate "animal rights" to the struggle for civil rights, especially using an image of primates with a quote from Dr. King superimposed over it.