Corporal Punishment in Black Communities

“This is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you”. “Stop crying before I give you something to cry about” These are common phases used in young adult literature to portray people of color’s parenting skills. Why is it that authors depict people of color as tending to continue the cycle of abuse with their children through corporal punishment in young adult literature? Why do modern authors highlight corporal abuse of children of color when in “real life” the school shooters that young adults must deal with, so far, have not been black? White mass shooters make up 65% while black mass shooters make up only 19%. The reasons why families of color tend to use corporal punishment, why corporal punishment in black communities is so embed in the roots of history, and the effects of corporal punishment all tie back to slavery.

The goal for parents of color should be to protect, love, and to care for their children. However, due to the dangers of society for people of color, parents tend to go to extreme measures to ensure the protection of their children. Corporal punishment is deeply rooted in black tradition because of the legitimate fear for their child’s safety against society. Black parents tend to use corporal punishment to hinder their children from “turning bad” (turning to gangs, drugs, pregnancy, etc.). This kind of stern parenting is shown in the story The Man Who Was Almost a Man by Richard Wright when the main character, Dave, father asks him about his job and when Dave does not respond automatically his father ask him if he cannot hear and why doesn’t he listen. Dave then responds by saying that plows more than anybody there, and instead of encouraging him his father responds by saying he ought to keep his mind on what his doing. Dave responds by saying “Yessuh” as if he was talking to a master. In his conversation with his father we can see that Dave’s father is stern when it comes to his performance in society. Dave, knowing what would happen if he misbehaves complies. We see it again in this story when Dave is caught having killed his bosses Mule but refuses to tell the truth because of the consequences that will follow with his father. That night Dave laid in his bed and thought about the beating he is going to get and remember past beatings and his back shivered. Dave with much anger says that all he did was work and that he was treated like a mule that’s beaten. Here, we can see that Dave’s father uses corporal punishment as a resolution to his wrong doings. However, instead of rehabilitating him into becoming more obedient he becomes more resentful and angrier. In black culture, we tend use corporal punishment as a tactic to deter our children from the streets, gangs, out of prisons, and out of sight of the police. The reasoning for the continuation of corporal punishment was to prepare black children to deal with prejudice they will face day in and out and that could potentially get them killed. If a child were to make one wrong move in that era, they were in danger of being killed.

However, this leads to negative outcomes, like the lack of educational achievement, resentment, anger, and foster care placement. In a study by The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, it states that African American children constitute 38% of the foster care population while they only make up 16% of the general child population. These percentages are dangerous because black children only compose of a small percentage in the general population, yet Black children have a high percentage in the foster care population. The foster care system is known as a pipeline for juvenile detention for children of color. So, if most black children are placed in foster care systems; they are more likely to end up in juvenile.

Another reason as of why parents of color tend to use corporal punishment to correct a child’s wrongdoings is because that’s how they were raised themselves. Corporal punishment has been so normalized in the black community that if a parent does not use corporal punishment they are seen as weak, not able to control their children, and setting up their child for failure. Now, why is this so deeply rooted in our culture? In order to understand why is it that corporal punishment is so deeply embedded into the culture, we must understand the historical roots of corporal punishment. In an article by the American Psychological Association, Stacey Patton explains that the practice of corporal punishment was adopted by African Americans from white slave masters. The European had a history of using corporal punishment on their children that ran over a thousand years before coming to the New World and colonizing Africa. Patton continues to explain that prior to colonization, West African societies did not use corporal punishment, rather they held their children to a higher regard. In West African societies, they believed that children were reincarnated gods or ancestors from the afterlife. Hitting a child was not allowed because they believed it would scare off their souls. However, because of colonization, slavery, and genocidal violence parenting skills grew harsher. Another reason why this practice was adopted was because the captives that were taken were young (in between 15-20 years old). Because they were so young mixed with the violent suppression of West African culture, it resulted in their practices and culture (like child-rearing practices, languages, and religion) fading away. Patton explains that after slaves were emancipated in 1865 the structure of racial customs and ritualistic whippings became the new type of southern labor systems. These labor systems depended by black child workers, so whites encouraged corporal punishment to ensure that is served the same reason it did when they were enslaved in freedom.

In Dr. Willaim H. Gier and Dr. Prince M. Cobbs book Black Rage they remind us that black people learned to use corporal punishment on their children from slavery. The book explains that corporal punishment has psychological roots to slavery. Although this is known, Black parents tend to still continue using corporal punishment because it was once done to them. Because it was once done to them, they may believe that it is only right to continue that form of discipline, but they are blind to see that they are continuing the cycle of oppression and abuse implemented by white slave masters.

Not only does corporal punishment affect the child physically, but it also affects them mentally for years to come. In the novel Push by Sapphire, the main character, Claireece Precious Jones is an African American 16-year-old girl who lives in Harlem. Precious is abused sexually, physically, and mentally by her parents. Because of this constant abuse she developed multiple of mental health issues and her educational achievement was stomped. We can see how Precious struggles academically in the book when she says she could not let anybody know that page 122 looked like 152, 22, 3… etc. She continues to explain that she really does want to learn, but she’s waiting for her to wake up one day ad have a breakthrough or that someone will come and break through her. She even changed her seat to the front of the class in hopes of catching up and learning. However, the amount of abuse that Precious endures takes a toll on her academically. Precious is a high school student who is below an eight-grade level in reading and writing. Not only does Precious has an academic deficit, but she has no support system both at home and at her old school. Even though Precious exhibited clear signs of an abuse her school failed to intervene and help her.

Children who are beaten do not only suffer academic deficits, but they also suffer a number of other long-term effects. In the article The Case Against Spanking by the American Psychological Association it explains multiple of studies concluded that corporal punishment can progress to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, and mental health problems. Because of these effects as children begin to progresses into adulthood it increases the abuse of alcohol and drugs down the long road. The aggression children have endured may also teach them to associate violence with power or love when they become adults. This association causes them to continue the cycle of abuse and become the abuser or get into relationships that they can be abused in because they know nothing else.

In conclusion, authors tend to depict people of color using corporal punishment in young adult literature. Why is that? Is there truth in the pudding? Parents of color tend to use corporal punishment to ensure the safety of their children from society. But as we learned corporal punishment was not always used as a way to discipline children, it was adopted during and after slavery. Corporal punishment may work to deter wrongdoings in the present, but it will affect children mentally in the long run. So, if you are a person of color and you are thinking about using corporal punishment ask yourself if you want to continue the cycle of abuse implemented by white slave masters.