The Willie Lynch Letter - Fact or Hoax?
“The enlargement of differences among blacks, by slave owners in the past, is a major root cause of the disunity and disharmony withiin the black community. Some of the things that have been perpetuated against the black race to cause discension are to exalt those who have more European features as opposed to those who have African features. Turn the upstairs slave against the downstairs slave, the mistress’s slave against the kitchen slave and the kitchen slave against the field slave. Give them an extra bowl of beans.
“These indoctrinations exercised durinmg slavery are kept in such a way that blacks continue to fight each other perpetually even today. They make distinctions in families between a light-skinned sister and a dark-skinned sister. Then parents and aunties choose the light-skinned one or the dark-skinned one they like. They cone to hate each other based on these differences taught by white slave owners to such an extent that they spend most of their life trying to be like someone else.
“These are some obstacles in the way of reconciliation whch are still at work today. We’ve been under a wrong constitution of morals and practices. We have been under a wrong order of behavior, and even Christian (religious) people taught us these things.” … [from Liberated – No Longer Bound, page 65, by Jefferson Edwards]
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The William Lynch speech, also known as the Willie Lynch letter, is an address purportedly, delivered by a William Lynch (or Willie Lynch) to an audience on the bank of the James River in Virginia in 1712 regarding control of slaves within the colony. In recent years, it has been widely exposed as a hoax.
The letter purports to be a verbatim account of a short speech given by a slave owner, in which he tells other slave masters that he has discovered the "secret" to controlling black slaves by setting them against one another. The document has been in print since at least 1970, but first gained widespread notice in the 1990s, when it appeared on the Internet. Since then, it has often been promoted as an authentic account of slavery during the 18th century, though its inaccuracies and anachronisms have led some historians to conclude that it is a hoax.
Now some have said that this letter has been exposed to be a "hoax". Well, let's assume that it really is a hoax. Ask yourself this question: Today (in 2024), are the teachings of the Willie Lynch Letter still applicable? Do we distrust each other? Do we treat each other differently because of skin shade or hair texture?
Let's say that I write a letter taking responsibility of "burning your house down" (although it, in fact, was YOU trying to get "insurance money"). I go on to describe all the details (which I got from you) and "spread the lie" that I did it. The "confession" takes the internet by storm. Soon, others begin to "publish" the same letter, attributing the crime to themselves. You receive such a letter, and you later find out that the letter (but not the content) is a hoax. Even thou the "letter is a hoax", DID THE EVENT (the "house burning") take place? Yes, it did. JUSTIFICATION of proving that the letter is a hoax DOES NOT PROVE THAT THE DETAILS ARE NOT TRUE!
From what we know about slavery, why not focus on WHETHER OR NOT the "stated events" of the letter is true. So again, I ask you this question: In 2024, are the teachings of the Willie Lynch Letter still applicable? Do we distrust each other? Do we treat each other differently because of skin shade or hair texture? A "disproven author and/or written letter" does not negate whether or not the events occurred. You can now examine this info for yourself: