Steve Harvey's wife advised him not to meet with Trump

By George L. Cook III African American Reports

It seems that everyone's favorite TV/radio/game show host has the same problem many married men do, he doesn't listen to his wife, although in Steve's defense he may have lost track of who his current wife is. She advised him not to go to the ill fated meeting with Trump at Trump Towers, but instead of listening to her, Harvey decided to listen to his inner Uncle Ruckus. We all know how badly things went for Harvey after that meeting and in an article in the Hollywood Reporter Harvey discusses the aftermath. He discusses ignoring his wife's advice, meetings with Ben Carson, and the fact that he is STILL surprised by the backlash from the black community that he received.

On ignoring his wife's advice:

Now, here's the crazy thing: I'm supposed to be on a boat for my 60th birthday, so my wife says, "Steve, just take off [and skip the meeting]. You'll meet with him some other time." God, I should've listened.

On the backlash:

The backlash. It was so vicious that it really threw me. I was being called names that I've never been called: Uncle Tom. A coon. A sellout. Because I went to see this man?! Which only happened because my business partner got a call from the Obama transition team, who said that the Trump transition team would like to set up a meeting. The Obama team said they thought it would be a good idea because the president is encouraging dialogue.

On meetings with Ben Carson:

I've been to HUD twice. I've met with Dr. Carson and we're actually trying to get it started. We've had meetings, and now we're just waiting on the final notes. We have several teams in place. Hopefully before the year goes out, we'll be making the announcement about the first vision center.

Read the full article here: HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won't Save Black America

New book, Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won't Save Black America by Stacey Patton

A challenge to the cultural tradition of corporal punishment in Black homes and its connections to racial violence in America

Why do so many African Americans have such a special attachment to whupping children? Studies show that nearly 80 percent of black parents see spanking, popping, pinching, and beating as reasonable, effective ways to teach respect and to protect black children from the streets, incarceration, encounters with racism, or worse. However, the consequences of this widely accepted approach to child-rearing are far-reaching and seldom discussed. Dr. Stacey Patton’s extensive research suggests that corporal punishment is a crucial factor in explaining why black folks are subject to disproportionately higher rates of school suspensions and expulsions, criminal prosecutions, improper mental health diagnoses, child abuse cases, and foster care placements, which too often funnel abused and traumatized children into the prison system.

Weaving together race, religion, history, popular culture, science, policing, psychology, and personal testimonies, Dr. Patton connects what happens at home to what happens in the streets in a way that is thought-provoking, unforgettable, and deeply sobering. Spare the Kids is not just a book. It is part of a growing national movement to provide positive, nonviolent discipline practices to those rearing, teaching, and caring for children of color.

CHECK OUT THE BOOK

PAPERBACK------ KINDLE VERSION

Thousands pack D.C. for 20th anniversary of Million Man March

Under clear skies and amid metal detectors, barriers and moderate police presence, thousands of people crowded onto the National Mall on Saturday to hear messages bemoaning cases of alleged police misconduct and to observe the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March. Watch video of attendess of the event below:

Does spanking a child equal child abuse?

NFL star Adrian Peterson being charged with child abuse after beating his son with a switch has again raised the issue of child discipline. I like many my age grew up in the 70s and 80s where beating was a way of discipline. It's what our parents knew and did. I was spanked with a belt, the switch you had to go get yourself ( ..don't bring back no little switch either), and a damned Hot Wheels track, you remember the orange one. I don't believe at all that my parents beat me. As a matter of fact 99.8% of the time I had earned that ass whipping and it taught me right from wrong. Let me say I wasn't just beaten, there were talks and lessons that accompanied those beatings. But then again that was in the 70s.

Now most in society are against beating a child and like my wife and I don't beat their children. In the Black Community there are still a good number of old school parents and grandparents who believe in spankings. They follow the spare the rod and spoil the child rule. The problem now is that what many consider discipline many more consider abuse. Is spanking a child abuse?