In a recent article published in the New York Times, written by Stacey Patton, she described the issues with beating Black children. The article, named “Stop Beating Black Children,” gives a background to why this trend began and why it needs to stop.

She begins the article by stating that she was a victim of child abuse by her adoptive Black mother, and even though her mother thought “whupping” was the best thing for her, it damaged her severely. She then transitions into the history of why black children are beaten so much more than other races, statistically. Previous to slavery, black children were somewhat sacred. Beating black children was caused by white supremacy, and the concept was so engrained in Black culture because of the hundreds of years of slavery, that now Black children are regularly beaten because parents think it will keep them in line. Clearly, this is not the case.

Patton argues that the beating of Black children and the violence surrounding black people needs to stop. There is a multitude of evidence proving that beating children is not effective, and this trend absolutely causes more harm than good. Personally, I believe Patton makes a very good point. I think the cycle of beating children causes kids to be more violent, and to pass that on to further generations. Obviously, this will be a difficult culture change, but it is very necessary. The Black community will feel the repercussions of slavery for a long while more, but we should all begin to try to heal that.