Editing Jerry Was a Man (section)

==Modern interpretation==
The protagonist, Jerry, is a genetically modified chimpanzee, trained to do agricultural labor. The fight for his legal rights has parallels in today's legal system and the [[Great ape personhood|laws of some countries]]. However, some of Jerry's characteristics invite comparisons with American Black people, at which the modern reader may cringe. However, it is doubtful that Heinlein intended to be racist, because he used stereotypes that were extant when the story was written, and he had used Black characters in previous writings without stereotyping them. <ref>Henry T. Greeley, "BioSci Fi: "Jerry Was a Man", Robert A. Heinlein, 1947", Stanford Law School, Center for Law and the Biosciences (blog post), 2012. Online at https://law.stanford.edu/2012/10/17/lawandbiosciences-2012-10-17-science-fiction-law-and-biosciences-jerry-was-a-man-robert-a-heinlein-1947/.</ref>