I picked up this book for two very specific reasons:
1. To gain insight into the theory that African slaves were intentionally de-constructed into self-loathing, destructive personalities for the sole purpose of capital gain.
2. It was a very short book that I could read on my dreaded direct flight to San Antonio.
From a technical stand point this is not a book that will ever be lauded for its great ability to relay concise and profound ideas. This book is more about identifying why the Black family unit began to fail and how artificially generated divisions between sub-groups of African Americans (i.e. Light vs. dark, young vs. old) continue to pose a serious threat to the restoration and advancement of our communities.
Unfortunately, the lack of depth and reliable evidence prevents The Willie Lynch Letter from providing a traceable cause for many issues facing today’s African American family. For a book to claim to have identified the root cause for the serious problems besieging our community and then fail to back up its assertion is very discouraging. In fact, it provides further ammunition to the argument that African Americans seek out excuses for failing at greater rates than their other ethnic counterparts.
Despite the many shortcomings that this book has, it does present the reader with a theory and possible antidote to correct the dysfunction found in the Black family. Which I understood to be re-learning the roles of Man & Woman and respecting the sanctity of family and the values passed on from parent to child within a complete unit. These are only my personal observations; however, this book is a great start for people who are just starting to read about their history for reasons of self-empowerment and personal knowledge. The reader will be presented with information that, although lacks evidence, provokes the reader to reflect and hopefully move beyond any “mental shackles” that make them fearful resentful of their African American peers.
Overall, whether or not the event actually occurred is irrelevant because the divisions that supposedly came from the teachings of Willie Lynch do exist. The Willie Lynch Letter and The Making of a Slave represent an opportunity for African Americans to address the issues of distrust within the Black community and its subsequent family units.
I would suggest reading it.
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How could you defend this book and say that ” it provides further ammunition to the argument that African Americans seek out excuses for failing at greater rates than their other ethnic counterparts”?? So are you saying that you believe that an African American made up the Willie Lynch letter to make an EXCUSE??? How disgraceful of you to make such a comment. I’m not even upset that you stated that you don’t think it’s a real letter. That’s fine because you are correct; there is not enough evidence to provide that this letter is in fact real, but instead of even saying maybe a white person lied about it, you automatically blamed African Americans. You, my dear, are feeding right into what Willie Lynch wanted to happen.
The Willie Lynch letter was a plan to make society exactly the way it is today. African American women are completely against African American men. Being self sufficient is great, but African American women today think that they don’t need a man at all. They look at the African American male as weak and pathetic. There is no defense, we don’t stand behind and support them. Look at music videos, go to a stripclub, just like it is stated in the letter, a large number of African American women have no pride in themselves and are willing to be looked at as a piece of meat; mentally raped and left empty. Lighter complexion African Americans think they are somewhat better than darker complexion African Americans. Why?? Because lighter complexion African Americans think they are closer to being white, which is more accepted in society.
White people stripped us of our native tongue. We don’t take pride in our motherland, Africa. We turn against each other, belittle each other. We only think we’re beautiful when mixed with some other ethnicity. We don’t take pride in our BEAUTIFUL thick and kinky hair. Willie Lynch’s letter is in full effect today.
So if you want to give suggestions on where African Americans need to learn about their history, tell them to start with AFRICA. Not this book. This is what we need to move away from. We need to find a union, become one again and stop fighting against each other. FIND YOURSELF!
Thanks for your opinion. However, I think you mis-understood my review. My concern isn’t the ethnicity of the writer of this book. It never crossed my mind.
But it does worry me if the readers of this book whether Black, Anglo Saxon, Asian or Latino, see this book as more of a “glass half empty” analysis of African Americans. The fact is that people are serious believers in the negative stereotypes about African Americans. And if we ever want to educate them correctly, it is best to have overwhelming facts to disprove any argument that person musters. This way they can see that the error is in their judgment of how they “choose” to view Blacks and not in our inherit nature.
I am among the biggest advocates of the beauty, strength, determination, & intellect of African Americans. However, it hurts my heart deeply when other African Americans continuously downplay their potential and ability to succeed. At some point they have to recognize that the chains are no longer on them and it is not illegal for them to read as it was for slaves that were beaten and lynched for educating themselves. We can not move our community forward by forcing people to succeed. At some point for a person that makes the choice to not succeed by playing “the man won’t let us” card, it is our job to leave them in their squalor and prove through the collective success of the African American majority that the thing that holds us back is our own mindset. Not any government or race. If slavery could not stop Frederick Douglass, Booker T Washington, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and the countless other escapees & freedmen, why should ghettos and bad schools stop us?
That’s the question that I hope begin to form in the mind of individuals that are just starting to read and learn about themselves and their history. Some people require baby steps before they can be off running the 40-yd hurdles. This is a book that should help to form questions that lead newcomers to African American history to do more research and reading.
Again I thank you for the comment and I’d love to have you review one of your favorite books for our blog. I can be reached at thelitlounge@mahoganybooks.com.
Peace
Thanks,
I suggest you read BREAKING THE CURSE OF WILLIE LYNCH by Alvin Morrow. This book brings more insight on the letter, and goes more in depth about the details and procedures that took place. How they “colored” us on purpose to taint us with the hateful caucasian gene. Please read this book, it makes a lot of sense. As for the person who posted this ignorant statement, ignore him. PLEASE. This is exactly what Mr. Morrow refers to in his book.
I will take a look at the book. I am confused as to which comment you are referring to as ignorant. As for Mahogany books, I apologize for reading your book review out of context. I just saw it in a completely different light. Are there ever events held in Atlanta through the company?
I’m glad you made clear that this book is not historically accurate. Prof. Manu Ampim and Dr. William Jelani Cobb (the latter of Spelman College in Atlanta), Dr. William Frierson of Fisk University among other reputable African-American historians have exposed this “letter” to be a hoax that was created around 1993 and the language used makes it clear that it was written in the 1900s and not the 1700s.
My major problem with this, along with what you described, is that it leads gullible African Americans who already suffer issues with self-esteem to believe that our slave ancestors were so ignorant that one white man making a short speech could single-handedly destory them “for another thousand years.” That is not history. That is an insult.
The truth is far more complex. Prof. Kenneth Stampp (who died recently) did an excellent job of explaning the truth of the “Making of A Slave” in his book on slavery “The Peculiar Institution” (1956), particularly in the chapter entitled “To Make Them Stand With Fear.” Dr. Carter G. Woodson (founder of Black history Month) also discussed the matter aptly in his classic “Miseducation of the Negro” (1933), as did the heroic former slave Frederick Douglass in his “Life & Times of Frederick Douglass.”
Frankly, I blame many of my colleagues in the Black History profession as some of them have not done enough to make REAL Black history known to the masses who need it the most instead of staying in the ivory towers of academia. This silence has left a vacuum where any crackpot could collect cash by confusing the credulous who search for truth without knowing where to look and thus search in all the wrong places. As for Willie Lynch? It’s nice to know that so many people care about our history, but this is not where they’ll find it. Willie Lynch and other junk like this belongs on the roll when the Charmin runs out. Read the above mentioned wrtings by qualified writers and scholars to learn the truth of the matter.
I find the following debated information on the Willie Lynch Letter interesting. From another Black man in Australia whether the letter is true or false the very prinicples and mindset of the letter are utilised well and truly in Australia. Many of the Governments in Australia including the Federal Government create organisations, policies and utilise funds against Indigenous Australians to keep them well and truly divided. I can provide many examples here in Australia, but you only have to read about the plight of Indigenous Australians: Aboriginals, Torres Strait Islanders and (South Sea Islanders) who were brought into the country for the slave labour throughout Queensland. The very principles of Willie Lynch is alive and well in Australia, just research our History.
Willie Lynch has landed in Australia.
Warrior Downunder