HarlemLIVE

Poet and author Asadah promoted her book Beating Black Kids at Hue- Man bookstore, on 125^th Street and 8^th Avenue. Asadah is an administrator of a youth program, an educator, author and a single mom.  Her passion for the topic of not beating black kids comes from over 15 years of working with young people and never having to lay hands on them to get them to act correctly. Her book is made to target the black community and make parents question their child-rearing agenda if it involves beating. The book is filled with Asadah’s less than friendly view on how the black culture is failing as a result of early abuse and lack of proper communication. Shoes, wine bottles, wire hangers, hot spatulas, phone cords, belts, wet rags, rocks, and twigs are just a few of the “weapons” people have expressed to Asadah about their childhood experiences with beating. Almost all of them say they deserved it.

“Beating black kids comes from slavery: having the white man hit the black man, the black man hits the black woman, and they all hit the black children just to give fear and gain power,” says Asadah, in regards to how beating started. She has made clear to her audience that her book is “not punitive or accusing, just showing another way to handle our kids.” For her, beating is a result of frustration with one's children and not out of love like the parents claim it to be. What Asadah suggests is communication between the parent and the child to use positive experiences, which will result in good judgment. Her goal is to start a movement of wiser parents and to invest in a better future for our kids. For this book, Asadah earned an international book award in 2009. To contact the author or get more info about the book, you can go to www.beatblackkids.com.