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Willie Lynch |
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According
to an essay appearing in "Brother Man- The Odyssey of Black Men in
America- An Anthology" Lynch was a British slave owner in the West
Indies who came to the United States to tell American slave owners
how to keep their slaves under control. It is believed that the term
"lynching" is derived from Lynch's name. "Gentlemen, I greet you here on the bank of the James River in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twelve. First, I shall thank you, the gentlemen of the Colony of Virginia, for bringing me here. I am here to help you solve some of your problems with slaves. Your invitation reached me on my modest plantation in the West Indies where I have experimented with some of the newest and still the oldest methods of control of slaves.
Ancient
Rome would envy us if my program were implemented. As our boat
sailed south on the James River, named for our illustrious King,
whose version of the Bible we cherish. I saw enough to know that
your problem is not unique. While Rome used cords of woods as
crosses for standing human bodies along its highways in great
numbers you are here using the tree and the rope on occasion.
Gentlemen, you know what your problems are: I do not need to
elaborate. I am not here to enumerate your problems, I am here to
introduce you to a method of solving them. In my bag here, I have a
fool proof method for controlling your Black slaves. I guarantee
everyone of you that if installed correctly it will control the
slaves for at least 300 hundred years. My method is simple. Any
member of your family or your oversee r can use it. On top
of my list is "Age", but it is there only because it starts with an
"A": the second is "Color" or shade, there is intelligence, size,
sex, size of plantations, status on plantation, attitude of owners,
whether the slave live in the valley, on hill, East, West, North,
South, have fine hair, coarse hair, or is tall or short. Now that
you have a list of differences. I shall give you an outline of
action-but before that I shall assure you that distrust is stronger
than trust and envy is stronger than adulation, respect, or
admiration. Gentlemen, these kits are your keys to control. Use them. Have your wives and children use them, never miss an opportunity. If used intensely for one year, the slaves themselves will remain perpetually distrustful. Thank you, gentlemen." |