Black -is- Beautiful

You may have heard that the Williamson County Animal Shelter in Georgetown recently canceled their "Black is Beautiful" promotion scheduled June 14-20 during which black-coated animals were to be adopted out for only $25. (The normal fee is $85.) Black-coated animals have a lower adoption rate compared to animals of other colors, and therefore a generally higher chance of being euthanized, so the purpose of the event was to encourage people to take a second look at those dark-furred, potential adoptees. Unfortunately, the Georgetown shelter’s timing was very poor, and coincided with Juneteenth: June 19, the anniversary of the date when slavery ended in Texas. The timing of the shelter event, combined with the name, resulted in criticism from the President of the Austin NAACP and others, and the shelter elected to cancel the event.

As any visitor to this blog can tell, I am a great fan of black-furred animals (my 4 cats and 1 dog are black), and I am in favor of any promotion designed to increase their adoption rate. I feel sympathy for the shelter’s organizers, but naturally wish that they had been more aware of the scheduling date, not only because of the meaningfulness of that date, but also because of the importance of such a promotion. Cheryl Schneider, the shelter director, was quoted as saying that not only would they not reschedule the event, but that future adoption events “won’t be so specific.” What does that mean? Will they not offer black-furred animals at a discount? Will there be no “kitten adoption” promotions in the spring? I truly hope not.

This has surely been an unexpected learning experience for the Georgetown shelter, but the they should not allow themselves to feel so "burned" that that they will not try to do it again. Simply, greater consideration is the key. The slogan "Black is Beautiful" drew criticism because the phrase originated in the 60's during civil rights, and has a lot of embedded meaning. Clearly, in retrospect, a slogan less loaded with historical and political meaning is called for.

But coming up with a different slogan should not be difficult. The Humane Society of Utah once did a similar promotion called “Black Magic.” Or how about “Back in Black?” The song does have that line about “nine lives” and “cat’s eyes.” (And while I suppose AC/DC could protest the use of copyrighted material, I think it would be safe.) In any case, that combined with a neutral date could do wonders, and may save the lives of a lot of special animals who often don’t even get a chance to be appreciated for their personalities.

So hey, Williamson County Animal Shelter, you made a mistake. You admitted it. Few think you intended racism, but just had not considered the timing and the possible reactions to the name you chose for it. Temporarily canceling the event was in the best public interest. But please don’t shy away from doing this again with a new name and new date---soon. This occurrence, negative as it was, got you a lot of free publicity that most shelters cannot afford to buy. Make the best of it you can, and restore your reputation! The animals will be the greatest benefactors of whatever you do.