At its best, corporal punishment in Black American homes is a negligent, ineffective form of discipline that leaves Black children with unresolved trauma and mental health issues. At its worst, the switch of the belt is a brutal reminder that the hand of chattel slavery still has Black people in a stifling chokehold, leaving emotional scars that carry throughout generations. The use of violence to reprimand a child does not belong in any household regardless of race. However, the line feels especially crossed when the descendants of America’s enslaved are on the oppressive side of the whip. Even more harrowing– many Black parents view whoopings through such a skewed lens that they fail to recognize the parallel at all.
For Black parents, corporal punishment seems to be a deeply rooted, intrinsic tradition passed down through generations– no different than spades at family barbeques or black-eyes-peas and greens on New Year’s Day. The undeniable truth is that the roots of the weed that is whoopings and beatings in the Black community span back to around 1619. Prior to the Atlantic slave trade, West African nations did not physically discipline the youth. Children inherited morals through proverbs and folklore such as Anansi the Spider rather than Proverbs 13:24. Children were treated with great respect, as elders believed that violence could drive away a child’s spirit and that children were divine beings or reincarnations. On the contrary, corporal punishment is innate to European culture, having existed on the continent for thousands of years before it was force-fed to their southern neighbors. In a perfect world, Black parents learning about the disturbing method by which colonialism has puppeteered belts into their hands should be adequate enough to free them from its grip.Â
But to Black parents, a perfect world in which their children are safe from external violence is far beyond their fingertips, which is why most employ whoopings as their go-to disciplinary custom. After corporal punishment was introduced to enslaved people in the New World, Black people sustained the practice of whoopings to keep their children orderly and safe out of fear that a noose or gun could beat them to the chase. Considering African Americans’ violent history, it is clear why they are the ethnic group most likely to spank their children – a study conducted by Elizabeth Gershoff, a corporal punishment researcher, found that 89% of black parents admitted to the practice as opposed to 79% of white parents, 80% of Hispanic parents and 73% of Asian parents. It is also clear that the practice is ineffective and dangerous.
In Black parents attempting to protect their children from racial violence such as police brutality, the hands of hard “love” are killing kids faster than officers ever could. Between 2005 and 2016, an average of over 3,600 Black children were slain by way of maltreatment, a rate three times higher than other ethnic groups. Their deaths, just as tragic as those of Tamir Rice and Michael Brown, remain mostly unpublicized because the oppressor wielded a belt instead of a Glock 22. In a cruel twist of fate, the very measures Black parents use to safeguard their children from American society ironically become their children’s first introduction to white supremacy-motivated violence and harm.Â
As Africans were transported in the dark, dank bows of ships across the Atlantic Ocean, they were ripped from their families and tribes. They were robbed of everything that made them Yoruba, Ashanti, Fulani, Igbo and the tribes history books may never know the names of. They were stripped of their identities– the melodic cadence of their native tongue, rich flavors of millet-based cuisines, sacred offerings to Yemaya, renowned Ife terracotta sculptures and more, snatched from them with the click of a shackle. So there is no doubt that the descendants of the enslaved –people robbed of everything– are determined to keep their traditions guarded. That luxury should be reserved for jumping the broom on wedding days and dancing the Electric Slide at cookouts, traditions that stemmed from the enslaveds’ ability to find joy and resilience in the face of horrific pain and suffering. “Traditions” such as corporal punishment that perpetuate pain and suffering have no place in this lineup and the Black community must liberate itself from its suffocating grasp.