When they found me, Dad did what every parent I knew would have done -he reached for his belt. I remember watching him in a kind of daze, awed at the distance between punishment and offense. Later, I would hear it in Dad’s voice —“Either I can beat him, or the police.” Maybe that saved me. Maybe it didn’t. All I know is, the violence rose from the fear like smoke from a fire, and I cannot say whether that violence, even administered in fear and love, sounded the alarm or choked us at the exit. What I know is that fathers who slammed their teenage boys for sass would then release them to streets where their boys employed, and were subject to, the same justice.
Purpose is to show the audience the childhood of an African American boy and how it is filled with preparation for their future and the injustice they will have to face.
This quote shows the culture and upbringing of African American boys, even the author himself. The fathers were preparing their son for what American society would have for them in the future. Author addresses how the violence from their fathers came from fear of repercussions from the police and society itself.
Shows the white, educated audience of the effects of their actions and racism on children throughout their lifetime. makes the audience feel guilty for taking away the childhood of many kids because of the inequality they have created.
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