Spare The Kids...

"Spare the rod, spoil the child"...the adage used by more than 70% of parents who believe in spanking as a form of discipline for children. Black parents have a particular attachment to it, argues author Stacey Patton, because they believe that by spanking they will protect their children from street violence, the police and prison. Patton asks African American parents to consider how whupping their kids reflects and reinforces racist ideology that black kids are inherently inferior and less civilzed and need violence in order to be controlled. She begs parents to Spare the Kids!