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Jere Alexander's Lynched Ku Klux Klan Pit Bull Embroidery Image
Alexander's pit bull image and a 2nd Klan ceremonial robe.
After the Parade1
On March 13, 2010, Jere Alexander, the former Director of the Fulton County Animal Shelter, posted another dogfighting embroidery image to Pit Bull Patriarchy, a website that she contributes to under the name Spotted Dog Farm. She also posted the image to her own blog. Alexander was forced to resign after an investigation by Fox 5 News showed her making questionable decisions regarding shelter pit bulls, her own pit bulls and her links to dogfighting.
After the Fulton County Animal Shelter scandal, Alexander applied for and received a grant from Emory University for "Stitch 'Er Up: Dogfighting Embroidery." It is unknown why anyone could receive a grant for the expressed purpose of romanticizing dogfighters and fighting dogs of a bygone era (See the real: Your Friend and Mine and Honeybunch2). She even depicts the mating of Fanny and Redboy, which produced the infamous Bailey's Bingo.3
Dogfighting is a violent and illegal bloodsport. There is no form or function in "romanticizing" this blunt truth.Brief History of the KKK and Dogfighting
One cannot discuss the meaning of Alexander's "After the Parade" image without first discussing the interwoven history of the Ku Klux Klan and dogfighting. In a 2005 online forum hosted by Best Friends, Merritt Clifton, editor of Animal People, does just that. Please review Clifton's discussion in full (See: Racism and Pit Bull Terriers). He powerfully describes the historical and present racial issues involved in dogfighting and the history of the pit bull.
Snipped portions:
"From [1905] until the early 1980s, dogfighting was almost exclusively a fundraising activity of the Klan and Klan splinter groups, along with cockfighting and pigeon shoots. As recently as the early 1930s, Klan chapters would openly advertise dogfights, cockfights, and pigeon shoots. As overt racism became less and less respectable, along with cruelty to animals, the ads became more discreet..."Potential Meaning of Alexander's Image
"If the Imperial Grand Wizards of the Ku Klux Klan had devised a plot about then to do the maximum possible damage to Afro-Americans, they could not have concocted a more diabolical scheme than to introduce dogfighting to black inner cities.With the proceeds from dogfighting in decline for generations, there was no longer any reason to keep it as an exclusive franchise, while unleashing pit bull terriers amid crowded housing projects and multi-family small framehouses full of little kids was a surefire way to kill and maim many more children, faster, than the Birmingham Bomber ever dreamed of..."
"While there are human victims among all classes and ethnic groups, Afro-Americans, especially Afro-American children, have suffered most.
Let's first start with the title. Klan members were the most visible to the public during their parades. "After the Parade" suggests a lack of this presence. It may also represent modern times. Thousands of Klansmen no longer march down our streets. Moreover, white supremacists are currently feeling besieged and threatened with an African American serving as the president. In this light, the title might also reflect the current state-of-mind of such groups.
The central colors of the image are white, red and black, the same colors that make up the Klan's current logo, which consists of four connected K's and a "Christ blood drop" in the center (The "Christ blood drop" is historically inaccurate; it was adopted during the 2nd Klan,4 1915-1944, for propaganda purposes). The dog depiction is all white except for the logo, much like the Klan's ceremonial robe. The shapes around the dog suggest large teardrops.
The hanging of the pit bull is emphasized by a loose rope that is not stitched into the fabric. What goes hand-in-hand with the Klan is the lynching of thousands of innocent African Americans. What goes hand-in-hand with dogfighters is the hanging, torturing and shooting of "cur" pit bulls -- dogs that lost or refused to fight. Finally, the image looks strikingly like a homicide scene where police have chalked the outline of a dead human body.
We have several theories on the meaning of Alexander's embroidered image, but we do not know from where her original "artistic" idea actually sprung. Presently, there are well-educated people from the South that grew up thinking and still believe that the KKK is a "misunderstood" community service organization. Alexander may be one of these people and through her image attempts to convey the commonly voiced theme that pit bulls are also "misunderstood."
In terms of romanticizing the "golden years" of dogfighters, from 1955 to 1975, the image might also represent the death of this period and the Klan's. By 1945, Klan membership had fallen below 30,000. Today's media and the general public condemn racist groups and dogfighting. Federal laws have been enacted to protect citizens against hate crimes. All 50 states have criminalized dogfighting too. States formerly controlled by the Klan being the last ones.
Despite the large teardrops and sense of loss Alexander's image conveys, nearly no American misses the era of the Ku Klux Klan nor will we miss the final extinction of the dogfighting industry.
1After posting this post, Alexander deleted the images from Pit Bull Patriarchy and closed Spotting Dog Farm to the public. We now link to the Google cache pages. As one commenter wrote, Alexander's actions "certainly begs the question, doesn't it?"
2CH Crenshaw's Honeybunch, 3 time winner and Register of Merit (ROM). Honeybunch was the best producing female of all times, in that she produced the most fighting dog champions.
3Bailey's Bingo's pedigree remarks, "1XW~ OVER A 4XW IN 1.27, NOT BAD FOR HIS FIRST AND ONLY TIME" translates into: He is a one time winner that beat a four time winner in one hour and 27 minutes.
4There were many chapters of the KKK across the country during the 2nd Klan period, some depicting the original logo, The Mystic Insignia Of A Klansman (MIOAK) with a Yin Yang symbol in the center, others depicting the "Christ blood drop" in the center with the logo in its original "x" shape and still others turning the "X" shape into an upright cross to further appeal to Christians.
2CH Crenshaw's Honeybunch, 3 time winner and Register of Merit (ROM). Honeybunch was the best producing female of all times, in that she produced the most fighting dog champions.
3Bailey's Bingo's pedigree remarks, "1XW~ OVER A 4XW IN 1.27, NOT BAD FOR HIS FIRST AND ONLY TIME" translates into: He is a one time winner that beat a four time winner in one hour and 27 minutes.
4There were many chapters of the KKK across the country during the 2nd Klan period, some depicting the original logo, The Mystic Insignia Of A Klansman (MIOAK) with a Yin Yang symbol in the center, others depicting the "Christ blood drop" in the center with the logo in its original "x" shape and still others turning the "X" shape into an upright cross to further appeal to Christians.
Graduate Student, Institute of Liberal Arts
| Dr. Anna Grimshaw Dr. Randy Malamud Jere started following the work of Karen deVries,University of California, Santa Cruz, History of Consciousness. Talks |
Papers
Entry in The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, 2010 About
As a Ph.D candidate, I am working in the areas of visual anthropology and human-animal studies. My MA thesis traced the raced and gendered aspects of representations of pit bull dogs in popular culture, film, and literature. My dissertation is a multimedia ethnography of pit bulls and their people in the US South.
From left: Jere Alexander, Rocky Alexander, Ossia Phillips and Tony Self.
14 pit bulls were seized as evidence last December by the Atlanta police in a suspected dogfighting operation. The dogs were moved to the Fulton County animal shelter. One of the dogs, a 4-year old male pit bull, was immediately dubbed "Beast" by shelter workers. The dog was so aggressive it could not be photographed for its kennel card. The same dog was later identified as "Spike," a prized stud dog that belonged to Ossia Phillips, who was arrested after the dogfighting raid.
Re: *News Story Alert- Atlanta*
Update... Fulton County Animal Services
Oct 29, 2008 | 4:38 PM
Category: News
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Featured On: MyFoxAtlanta Pit bulls are probably the most misunderstood breed of dogs today. Dog fighters love to abuse them, but in the right hands they can be loving, people-friendly pets. Abused pit bulls pose the biggest challenge.
When Barking Hound Village Foundation took over management of Fulton County Animal Services earlier this year, a new director was brought on board. Jere Alexander says pit bulls are her favorite breed. She even has an on-line website,www.pitarchive.org which was taken down shortly after she became aware of our investigation. She calls it a research site, with information about the history of dog fighting and the pit bull breed itself. She says it was taken down for maintenance, not because of our investigation. Although Ms. Alexander says she has done "field work" in the area of dog fighting, she condemns the practice.
Critics claim Ms. Alexander put dogs at risk when she took control of the shelter, a claim she denies. The current and former employees tell the I-Team she routinely looked the other way when her favorite breed went on the attack. They insist she refused to euthanize obviously aggressive pit bulls. Those pits, in turn, attacked other dogs in the pens. Insiders claim dog attacks and deaths inside the shelter have risen dramatically since Barking Hound Village Foundation took over. The management there tells us they don't keep such statistics.
Our investigation digs up what really happened when a vicious dog ticket mysteriously disappeared a few months ago. That dog was a pit bull. We explore why Ms. Alexander had her own pit bulls chained on her property multiple times, in violation of DeKalb County's anti-chaining ordinance. We also reveal just how easy it was for an undercover I-Team producer to be approved to adopt an aggressive pit bull from the Fulton County Animal Shelter, even though he made a point of telling everyone at the shelter he hadn't even bothered to take the dog out of the cage.
The investigations airs Thursday and Friday at 6 and 10 pm. I'm sure we'll be airing follow-up stories as well.
Please share your thoughts.
http://community.myfoxatlanta.com/bl...nimal_Services
I seek answers as to why Jere Alexander, a knowledgable Pit owner, would EVER chain any dog. Chaining causes frustration, aggression and pent up energy which is heightened by the strong breeds.
Please continue your efforts to improve the plight of Fulton County's dogs and the citizens who live in these communities where people see "nothing wrong" with chaining an animal. Your report shows just how dangerous chaining makes dogs.
To help unchain Fulton's animals, contribute to resources for low cost fencing, information, and foster homes for unwanted chained dogs, contactdenbhl@yahoo.com
- From one Atlanta Area Rep for Dogs Deserve Better, a non profit aimed at providing information and resources to unchain dogs.
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Re: *News Story Alert- Atlanta*
/crossposted/
Sec. 34-196 of Fulton County's animal law defines "Vicious Dog" as any animal which, because of temperament, conditioning, or training, has a known propensity, tendency, or disposition to attack, bite, or injure humans or other animals without provocation; or an animal which has on one or more occasion caused physical injury to humans or other animals without provocation, whether on public or private property.
From what I understand, there is no record indicating that the dog in question had a "known propensity" to bite or had ever bitten before. Apparently the dog had never been deemed "Vicious" by anyone with the authority to do so. If such is the case, then the owners of this dog were not legally in violation of the "Vicious Dog" ordinance.
In this type of case it would be standard procedure to "handle it a different way," as Alexander clearly stated during her interview.
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