Black Is Always More Aggressive

My parents have some dear friends. They invited them over for dinner one evening. Somehow the conversation turned to black dogs. At the time, my family had two black Labrador Retrievers. My parents’ friends were arguing that black dogs were more aggressive than lighter color dogs. It was an odd conversation. My family is black and they were white. My family had had many dogs over the years: 2 golden retrievers and three black labs, plus my mother had a dog as a child. This couple had had one dog: a poodle. My father who loves a good conversation tried to steer the conversation to breeds saying that certain breeds were more aggressive than others and that it depends on how the dog was treated (if it was abused) but they stood steadfastly, saying that it was the color that determined the temperament. My father point black asked, “Are you saying a yellow lab is always less aggressive than a black lab?”

To which his friend replied, “Yes, black animals are always more aggressive than white ones.”

This seemly innocent conversation caused an unspoken divide between the two families. My parents immediately thought they also meant that white people were more peaceful and gentle and less aggressive than African Americans. And that lighter skin African Americans were more peaceful and less aggressive than darker skins. And obviously, they thought our dogs were aggressive too.

I had never thought of them as racist. They were very nice people and my parents had known them for years. They knew that my family was black. So it was so odd that they didn’t hear what they were saying, that simply the color of someone’s skin or coat, the melanin, makes them more aggressive.

Of course, there was an uncomfortable silence after my dad’s close friend had said this and my mother and I stared down at our plates.

I don’t think they are racist in terms of hating blacks, but they seem to have prejudiced ideas about African Americans. They have never said anything poorly about blacks, but still this shows prejudice about how they view blacks and our behavior. It was such a surprising conversation between educated people to think that the color white makes one gentler. It was sad to hear that they had prejudice ideas about how we act and behave as a whole. We still have a lot of educating to do.

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