Black Man Attacked By Dog

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This picture was taken in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. It shows a police dog controlled by a white officer going to bite a black man in the stomach. The white man is pulling the dog’s leash back, which we would think was a gesture of trying to get the dog off of the black man. However the cop is also holing on to the front of the man’s shirt, keeping him from recoiling back away from the dog. The cop also has dark shades and clenched teeth, making him seem more imposing and cruel. The black man, though his facial expression makes it seem like he is not particularly concerned with the dog, is grabbing the arm of the cop, defiantly trying to pull away from the officer’s grip and away from the dog.

These two are certainly the focus of the picture, however those in the background are also interesting. The officer’s partner standing on the right side of the image is also white. He shows no interest in intervening in what is going on and helping the black man. However there are also many black people in the background who are also not interested in helping the man. They do look concerned, but none of them look as though they are making a move to help, maybe because they do not want to strike out against the white cop due to fear of the possible repercussions.

This image was startling to me. A police officer seemingly allowing his dog to attack an innocent man simply due to his race is something that I do not believe would be tolerated today. This is just one of many images I have seen depicting the violence and shocking racism surrounding the Civil Rights Movement, and it draws sympathy for the plight of the young black man. It constructs an understanding of what happened during the movement, and it also nudges us towards the side of the black man by appealing to our sense of humanity. We can imagine the pain caused by a dog bite and we cringe for the man. We feel bad for him, and therefore join his side in the fight for civil rights.