PROCLAMATION signed by African American Leaders
OPPOSING SCHOOL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
WHEREAS, corporal punishment is defined as the intentional infliction of physical pain for purposes of stopping or preventing misbehavior, and
WHEREAS, corporal punishment in schools is disproportionately used on African-American children, and
WHEREAS, anger and violence can get out of control with corporal punishment causing injuries such as bleeding, bruises, and broken bones, and
WHEREAS, corporal punishment conveys a message to children that violence is an acceptable method for dealing with conflict, and
WHEREAS, overwhelming evidence suggests that other methods of discipline work better like setting reasonable rules and standards, correcting children in a respectful, non-violent and consistent manner, praise and reward for appropriate behavior.
WHEREAS, all children deserve to be able to learn in a safe and supportive learning environment free from corporal punishment.
NOW, THEREFORE, we urge all school boards to ban corporal punishment and we urge state legislators in all states allowing its use to pass legislation ending school corporal punishment.
SIGNATURES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERS ON A PROCLAMATION CALLING FOR A BAN ON SCHOOL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT 12-04
| Dr. Alvin Poussaint | Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Judge Baker Children's Center; Boston, MA |
| Julian Bond | Chairman of the Board of NAACP, Baltimore, MD |
| Kweisi Mfume | Past President & CEO of NAACP; Baltimore, MD |
| Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. | Founder & President of PUSH/EXCEL; Chicago, IL |
| Marc H. Morial | President & CEO of Urban League; New York, NY |
| Dr. Michelle Clark | Committee on Black Psychiatrists, American Psychiatric Assn.; Los Angeles, CA |
| Dr. Winston Price | President of National Medical Association; Washington, DC |
| Marion Wright Edelman | President of Children's Defense Fund; Washington, DC |
| Dr. Deloris M. Saunders | President of National Alliance of Black School Educators; Washington, DC |
| Dr. Michael Lomax | President & CEO of United Negro College Fund; Fairfax, VA |
| Brother Reynaldo S. Taylor | President, Nat'l Black Catholic Seminarian Assn; Cincinnati, OH |
| Bishop E. Earl McCloud | Ecumenical Officer, AME Church; Atlanta, GA |
| Bishop Phillip Robert Cousin | Fourth Episcopal District, AME Church; Chicago, IL |
| Bishop Cornal Garnett Henning | Eighth Episcopal District, AME Church; New Orleans, LA |
| Bishop McKinley Young | Eleventh Episcopal District, AME Church; Jacksonville, FL |
| Dr. Carl C. Bell | President & CEO of Community Mental Health Council; Chicago, IL |
| Dr. Marilyn Benoit | Past President of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Washington, DC |
| Yvette McGee Brown | President of Child and Family Advocacy Center; Columbus, OH |
| Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth | Past President of Southern Christian Leadership Conference |
| Judith Jackson | President of National Association of Black Social Workers; Washington, DC |
Compiled by Dr. Alvin Poussaint and EPOCH-USA (End Physical Punishment of Children), Columbus, OH 43215, Nadine Block Co-Chair www.stophitting.org
For more information on the problems of corporal punishment and especially its effects on the African-American population, please see the Fact Sheet on Corporal Punishment.