A Call To
End Corporal Punishment
In Mississippi
Introduction
Corporal punishment includes hitting, paddling, and inflicting pain on students for the purposes of discipline, control, and sometimes even humiliation. Corporal punishment is an antiquated practice, steeped in some of the darkest parts of United States history. To allow corporal punishment in school is to condone the physical and psychological abuse of children. The use of corporal punishment raises ethical questions, not only because of its short and long-term negative effects on children, but also because it perpetuates discriminatory discipline affecting historically marginalized students who have always borne the brunt of such practices. To ensure all students attend schools that are safe and inclusive, states should prohibit the use of corporal punishment and invest in evidence-based programs and practices that build student trust and relationships among educators, their peers, and other members of their school communities. Ending corporal punishment is a pre-condition for ensuring the successful implementation of a supportive, positive school climate.
THE HISTORY, DISPARITIES, & CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
The history of corporal punishment as a discipline practice in schools chillingly recalls another physical punishment that was once common in the South—lynching, a tactic used to terrorize, traumatize, and maintain control over Black people.1 From 1882 to 1968, over 4,000 lynchings were carried out, primarily in Southern states. The Equal Justice Initiative calls many of these
murders “racial terror lynchings,” used to enforce Jim Crow Laws, racial segregation, and white supremacy in the U.S.3 Many lynching victims were murdered for “minor social transgressions or for demanding basic rights and fair treatment.”
BLACK STUDENTS RECIEVE MORE CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
Black students receive far more corporal punishment than their white peers. Black students were 2.5 times more likely to receive corporal punishment than white students in the 2017-2018 school year.8 Corporal punishment is commonly applied for minor, arbitrary infractions, such as walking on the wrong side of the hallway or laughing at an inappropriate time.9 Arbitrary infractions like these are subjective and give educators broad discretion to decide who gets punished and when.
THE CONNECTIONS TO LYNCHINGS
Research has explored the connection between lynching and the current practice of corporal punishment. One study published this year in the journal Social Problems found that counties in the South that had the highest historic rates of lynching are significantly more likely to use corporal punishment on students today, and that relationship is especially strong for Black students.5 The researchers concluded that, in the Southeastern states that were studied, the practice of corporal punishment “embodies and likely perpetuates histories of racialized violence, socioeconomic marginalization, and race-based exclusion.”6
Source: https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spz044
