Full disclosure: I am part of Attorney Victor Henderson’s election team. I support his candidacy for president of the Chicago Board of Education. That disclosure is important. So is this argument.
Victor Henderson’s candidacy has suddenly become less about the future of Chicago Public Schools and more about intimate chapters of his past. A good game of Chicago’s dirty politics.
A report by NBC political reporter Marion Ahern has brought attention to allegations concerning discipline Henderson administered to his teenage son during a difficult period in his family life, including an allegation that he struck the boy with a water hose and struck him while he was in bed. The incident is 15 years old and is really about a Black man punishing his son.
Those allegations deserve to be taken seriously.
But there is another question that deserves equal seriousness:
Is Chicago choosing a school board president—or conducting a public trial of a father?
Those are two very different things.
Corporal punishment should NOT be celebrated. I am not arguing that parents should abuse their children. And I am certainly not suggesting that being Black gives anyone a license to mistreat a child.
I am arguing for context.
And context matters when the subject is a Black father raising a Black son in America.
Black parents have historically had conversations with their sons that are difficult for other families to understand. We teach our boys how to deal with police officers. How to respond when an adult insults them. How not to escalate an encounter. How to understand that being six feet away from trouble can sometimes be the difference between going home and going to jail. How to respect authority figures, no matter who they are or where they might appear – the police, the car, the store, the school, the church, etc,
We tell them: Don’t fight. Don’t talk back. Don’t run your mouth. Don’t make yourself look threatening. Keep your hands where people can see them. We tell them a shirt and tie look better than baggy pants. We tell them a smart mouth can get you killed. We tell them not to be a smart-ass.
Why?
Because Black parents know that their sons are not always granted the benefit of the doubt. That is not paranoia. It is a reality documented and debated for decades, including harsh and even deadly experiences. This is a real concern for Black fathers, because they have lived it.
The Perception Gap: Differing Views of White Boys and Black Boys…
And there is another uncomfortable reality: Black boys can be perceived differently than white boys.
Let me share a story a friend told me while living in a predominantly white suburb. This incident involved a group of teens, mostly white, with one exception. The boys were experimenting with marijuana. Police discovered the teenagers smoking in a car. Police took all the boys to the station. The white boys were sent home to their parents, but the Black boy was held for questioning and booking. His parents challenged the police: If all of these boys were participating in the same behavior, why was their Black son treated differently?
That question should haunt us. This illustrates a conversation Black parents have had for generations: What happens when my son encounters authority? That fear shapes parenting.
It also explains why some Black fathers have historically been particularly demanding about discipline, obedience, and respect. The goal, however imperfectly expressed, has often been preparation.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama has spoken warmly about the influence of her mother, Marian Robinson, and the importance of raising children to become responsible adults—not simply keeping them comfortable as children.
That distinction matters. A teenager tests boundaries. A teenager challenges authority. A teenager discovers independence and sometimes mistakes independence for invincibility. Every parent has faced some version of that moment.
The question is what happened in the Henderson household years ago.
Where is Victor’s son today, 15 years after his punishment? He graduated from college and is working as a young professional.
Victor’s professional record shows discipline, accountability, and responsibility. Victor stopped a City government employee from calling co-workers “niggers” “coons” and “jungle bunnies”.
The Arrest & Decades-Old Controversy Bias
We have seen Black politicians reduced to a photograph, a mistake, a family problem, an arrest, a quote, a divorce, a youthful indiscretion, or a decades-old controversy.
Meanwhile, other politicians are often granted the luxury of complexity.
They get to be complicated human beings. Black candidates deserve that same luxury.
This is not about giving Victor Henderson a pass. It is about refusing to make the past the only lens through which he is seen.
Henderson is an attorney. He has spent 18 years as a trial lawyer. He understands evidence, argument, accountability, and decision-making. He has experience solving problems under pressure.
Those qualities matter enormously at CPS. The school district faces questions about finances, academic achievement, school safety, teacher retention, governance, accountability, and the future of neighborhood schools.
There is an irony here.
We say we want fathers involved in their children’s lives. We say we want Black fathers engaged in raising Black boys. We say we want parents to take responsibility for their children’s behavior.
That deserves scrutiny. What exactly are we asking of Black fathers?
Are they supposed to be engaged but never firm? Present but never authoritative? Responsible but never imperfect? Should daddy’s punishment be light of heart when strong correction is required?
Victor’s real questions are:
What will he do about CPS finances? What will he do about school performance? What will he do about closing schools? How will he hold administrators accountable? How will he support teachers and engage parents? How will he address inequity between neighborhoods?
How will he make sure that every Chicago child—not simply the children in politically powerful communities—gets an excellent education?
Those are the questions that matter.
And there is something else worth saying plainly:
Black children are not a monolith, and Black parenting is not a monolith.
There is no single Black way to raise a son. There is no single white way to raise a son. Families discipline differently. Generations change. Parenting philosophies evolve.
We should not turn cultural differences into convenient political weapons. Chicago deserves a serious debate about this historic election.
Bravo, Victor, for raising your sons to be young men with firm discipline.
Now let the real debate begin.
