Willie Lynch is Dead (1712?-2003)

There are many problems with this document — not the least of which is the fact that it is absolutely fake.

By William Jelani Cobb
Africana.com

I long ago stopped listening to sentences that begin with "The problem with black people is," or end with "and that's why black people can't get ahead now," which partly explains my initial indifference to the now-famous William Lynch Speech.

In the few years since the speech on how to train slaves first appeared, it has been cited by countless college students and a black member of the House of Representatives, along the way becoming the essential verbal footnote in barbershop analysis of what's wrong with black people. The rapper Talib Kweli laments on the song "Know That," "blacks are dyin'/how to make a slave/by Willie Lynch is still applyin'," and one professor at a Midwestern university made the speech required reading for her class. Of late, the frequency of its citations seems to be increasing — at least three people have asked me about it in the last month.

According to the speech's preface, Master Lynch was concerned enough with the fortunes of his slave-holding brethren in the American colonies to present a lecture on the bank of the James River, explaining how to keep unruly servants disunited. The old, he argued, should be pitted against the young, the dark against the light, the male against the female and so on. Such disunifying tactics "will control the slaves for at least 300 years," he guaranteed. And that, it seems, is why black people can't get ahead now.

There are many problems with this document — not the least of which is the fact that it is absolutely fake.

As a historian, I am generally skeptical of smoking guns. Historical work, like forensic science, isn't some flashy field — it depends on the painstaking aggregation of facts that lead researchers to the most likely explanation, but rarely the only one. Slavery was an incredibly complex set of social, economic and legal relations that literally boiled down to black and white. But given the variation in size of farms, number of enslaved workers, region, crops grown, law, gender-ratios, religion and local economy, it is unlikely that a single letter could explain slave policy for at least 151 years of the institution and its ramifications down to the present day.

Considering the limited number of extant sources from 18th century, if this speech had been "discovered," it would've been the subject of incessant historical panels, scholarly articles and debates. It would literally be a career-making find. But the letter was never "discovered." Rather, it simply "appeared" on the Internet — bypassing the official historical circuits and making its way directly into the canon of American racial conspiratoria.

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Comments

[Melaniki]

The history of slavery is horrible enough, it does not need to be embellished<<<

How can one embellish a horror the evil of which has never been fully exposed but instead sterilized and suppressed? The fact that so many modern blacks are so anxious and willing to bury this chapter in our history, with its recidivistic effects is proof positive of its continuing influence on the black psyche. It is denial. White Americans relive and replay every aspect of their history in films, literature and life everyday. To keep it real. To prevent the worst of it from recurring by keeping it fresh in the minds of their children. The past is a preview of things to come. Wake up people. Jews wisely do the same. So do Asians. Blacks of the diaspora are the only group asked to not merely avoid discussion or exposure of the most horrific part of their glorious history. But asked to deny it. What is worse, they actually consider it right to do so. Go here for proof that slavery did not end in 1865 but 1945 officially.
"Ya can't see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin'" ...The Predator.
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/431.html

[Evelyn Khelama]

Stumbled across this page looking for a clear copy of Lynch's letter. Not amazed at the reaction since there a lot black people in total denial of what the letter, a simple glimpse into what life was like as a black American slave, implies. As if, they somehow think by denying the credibility of Lynch's letter, that will somehow negate the severity and brutality of slavery and post slavery conditions under which black people lived. As if slavery and its ugly evil were not fully treated in slave narratives and historical documents prior to this letter attributed to Lynch. The lengths the human will go to protect its illusions is incredible. This very reaction to the Lynch document is proof of the authenticity of its claims if not the author. For it is the message in the letter that stands up to scrutiny moreso than any real author. And it is that MESSAGE that black people as those on this site are attempting to deny because the horror of it is too frightening. And yet we all know this happened, or we SHOULD know it. If you think Lynch's letter was horrific, read the following. You will NOT be able to deny THIS. This one has been verified. Then compare it to Lynch's letter and ask yourself why you wouldn't believe the latter.
http://www.dinsdoc.com/goodell-1-0b.htm

[Danielle]

For me to read an article disputing the validity of the Willie Lynch letter is very disturbing. Mr. Cobb is a history professor at a well known HBCU but writes distasteful work as this. I'm very upset and feel sorry for your students!!! How long will it take for our people to open their eyes and see Willie Lynch is still happening? No one has FULLY documented how many of our ancestors died during the tragedy of slavery. No one has FULLY documented how our mothers were brutally raped and murdered. No one has FULLY documented how the black family were separated and sold like cattle. There are many instances that haven't been told about what all happened during that time period but, we know how our ancestors suffered and that it happened. Please wake up brother!!! You need to rethink your opinion on the letter. If you need proof, pay homage to your ancestors and they will give you all the proof you need.

[David]

A lawyer for an embattled Speaker of our city counsel referred to a black, Muslim, conservative lawyer local talk radio host as, "cousin to Willie Lynch". Further during a dialogue with black professionals, a Muslim minister referred to the letter as historical fact.

Which has lead me here. I thought it might be an invention. The history of slavery is horrible enough, it does not need to be embellished.

What best explains the divisions to me has more to do with human nature. We have a certain pride in us that sees differences between those in our groups. That's why white retirees in retirement communities see vast differences amoung themselves even though to the observant outsider there are few. You see, they distinguish themselves by their hobbies and activities.

[Still A. Mann]

We as strangers, were brought here with more unity then we have NOW. Many plans were thought up to destroy this unity, some of them are mentioned in the "will-he-lynch" papers. Willie lynch to me is not a man,it is a statement to black people here. The info of this paper's existence did not surface until the 1990's so that leads me to believe that whoever revealed the paper just found-out too.But how come this dated event was never recorded in history?
Whether or not Willie lynch existed or not doesn't matter because the statement "will-he-lynch" has always existed in our minds ever since we were dragged here. That questional fear of death is an undeniable fact. YES HE WILL LYNCH.........need more?

[Cheryl]

I also have to agree with the other statements above. Whether it is real or not it does hold true in the African American community. Instead of trying to prove it is true or not. Why not post possible ways of denoucing the letter? It was a generational ancestial curse put on our community and it is up to us as believers of Christ to break the curse and push forward with harmony. As God is raising up a new level of strength and faith in the African American community (no matter where you live) he is breaking the spirits that so easily bind us. So my prayer is that if the letter is real or not that God would undo all the enemy has done to hold this generation of people down. Most importantly that he would raise up a standard against the enemy to not prosper anymore.

[soulguru]

William Jelani Cobb

You STILL haven't proven that the document is fake.

[TC]

*sigh*

Wake up and smell the truth, Judah Yisrael.

There are names for men who believe the truth of any testimony that supports their worldview, no matter how easily any honest person can recognize it for a lie.

Here are three of those names:

Fool.

Slave.

George W. Bush.

The Willie Lynch letters are a ridiculous fake. Any person who is not an idiot or is not willfully deceiving himself will recognize this.

Is there truth and insight in this forged speech? Yes, there is. Not nearly as much as its supporters claim, but there are important lines of thought here that should be explored. Its author could have done far more to advance his or her views by making it a broad and bitter satire without any serious claim to historical authenticity, along the lines of A Modest Proposal, than by attempting to pass off a clumsy and sloppy amalgam of (at least superficially intriguing) theories and implied exhortations as an actual historic document.

The intellectual efforts and achievements of real black intellectuals are constantly being undermined by the fools posing as black intellectuals who think using twenty-dollar words is more important than knowing what they mean, and who loudly embrace as truth any idea that seems nice and comfy to them, without bothering about whether it has any connection to reality. I don't mind that these folks come off as clowns, because that's all they are. What I do mind is that they discredit all the genuine black intellectuals, just because some moron with a three-piece suit and a thesaurus has been out puffing himself up as the Supreme Intellectual Pinnacle of the Negro Race.

And yeah, feel free to take that personally, Mr. Farrakhan.

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, already.

[JUDAH YISRAEL]

THIS PROFESSOR IS A COMPLETE FOOL, BUT YOU CAN'T EXPECT NOTHING LESS FROM AN UNCLE TOM

[gladys fae scott]

After reading the speech of 1712 by Willie Lynch and reviewing online other information stating that it is a fake. It doesn't really matter at this point whether it's a fake or if it's real-- the results we have today among black americans supports the Willlie Lynch theory. Just look around us. Nevermind the white man. Black man look at yourself. How can we change ourselves. I know we always talk about money--- not having enough of it-- for me it's more than money. I believe what we need the most in our lives can't be bought with money.

[Jeannine]

I just read the Willi Lynch Speech on The Final Call website. It supported all the reasons I believe our Black People are still struggling today. Then I went to another sight just to find out it wasn't a real document. Is there a physical document? Document or not Black people do distrust eachother and the young do despise the old and visa-versa. If someone can analyze the breakdown of a people then I think that someone should be able to come up with a speech and a proccess for the building up of a people. I hear all these insperational speakers but, living in this capitalistic society I think the building up of our people must be done in an agressive yet positive nurturing manner. Because a large part of what we are missing in our culture is a nurturing environment in the form of a family mother,father, and child.